


Pack is what you make it

by athyrarose



Series: Adopting the Broken Multiverse [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angelic Grace, BAMF Women, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, M/M, Pack Family, Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:53:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 106,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athyrarose/pseuds/athyrarose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashley has ninety nine problems, and learning to deal with grace that has a mind of its own is apparently one of them. Luckily for her, she has an ever growing pack to help her figure it out, a Genius who likes to fund everything, and a pair of over protective archangels who either glare at everything until it wets itself, or pranks everything in sight when jot munching on sweets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The difference in Squirrels and Fish

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Welcome to the first chapter of the second installment in my Adopting the Broken Multiverse series. If you haven't read it yet, check out the first story in the installment, Home is where you make it, else you might be a bit lost at first. And if not, enjoy anyway, and as always, reveiw and let me know what you think!

Sometimes in life, things happen that we have absolutely no control over.

Take puberty, for example. Other than the fact that steroids can mess with it, there’s no way to control when it finally strikes, causing you to have all sorts of new feelings, emotions, growth and other horrible things that make you feel completely awkward. All you can do is try your best to not trip over you suddenly weirdly proportioned body, strap on your new bra to keep the lumps of fat growing on your chest constrained, or keep a steady supply of tissue and lotion on hand next to your bed for the steadily increasing happening of blood running down into one head instead of the other. And that’s not even all the other fun things that females get to go through that make them want to stab people and gorge on chocolate all while sobbing uncontrollably the entire time.

Cancer is another thing that, while we can try our best to keep our skin and body healthy, it can sneak up on us at any time in our life, completely changing our lives. There are several different options for cancer, including attempted removal, chemotherapy, skin grafts…unfortunately sometimes all you can for the person is make sure their life is comfortable and pain free as possible. Sometimes the cancer will show back up if removed, sometimes not. That’s just the lottery of life.

Sometimes you can pray to God, angels, mother earth, whoever you believe in, and hope for a miracle. Sometimes you can make a deal, if you’re willing to pray the price of what you ask for.

Sometimes you meet someone who needed a friend because you just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Ashley’s life so far seemed like a whole string of events that kept happening she had no control over. She wasn’t going to complain about most of them, mind you, but at this point she had to admit her life was way more eventful than any normal persons should, ever since the funeral when her cousin asked her to move to Beacon Hills and live with him and his dad. She’d been stabbed, chased, bitten, partially possessed, infected by a succubus, kidnapped and drugged. She’d made friends with angels, demons, hunters, werewolves, tulpas( not that she knew it at the time), a rich playboy genius, a baby shape shifter and lots of teenagers, all the while trying to live a somewhat normal life and maintain a relationship with someone who wasn’t a steadily going crazy werewolf with murder issues.

Unfortunately for her, she was failing on all accounts. Her best friend and companion was dead because he saved her life from a barrage of glass spikes, her not really boyfriend (more like stalker she is attracted to and had sex with once) wanted to kill her cousins best friend for reasons, and the fragments of grace given to her by her archangel friends/guardians were not only very slowly regenerating inside her, they were leaving her little…let’s say quirks…to get used to.

One of which decided transport her all the way to a German museum after she passed out from a power overload, also technically due to the grace. She could even partially tell whose grace it was this time, as it had a mischievous feel to it, one she could sense while unconscious. Lucifers had a more serious tone to it, though it would often reflect his dry wit. It wasn’t known what exactly had been shared with her so far, only that she was showing signs of Gabriels sense of justice, which could be a very good thing…or a very bad one, considering the circumstances. She was going to need training if the grace continued to grow, however, lest it overwhelm her every time.

In her unconscious state, she could tell something was being blocked from her, but no matter how hard she concentrated on it, on getting around the wall to see what was behind it, it would elude her grasp, sometimes leaving her with a brief jolt of pain. Whatever it was, it was determined to stay hidden from her. It would have made sense if it was keeping the loss of Gwaine from her, considering how badly she reacted to it when it first happened, but she could still that clear as day, and could still feel pain from it. As she searched through her memories in the darkness, a bright green light suddenly started brightening the darkness, waking her from her unconscious state.

When she finally opened her eyes, waking finally, it took a bit for her to adjust to the location she was in, confused as when she had passed out, she had been in a dark warehouse lit only by the moon, surrounded by werewolves. Now, however, she was in a brightly lit room on a hard floor, propped up with her back against the wall. Letting her eyes adjust further, she spied a tall, dark haired man sitting on a bench in front of her, a mix of curiosity and confusion written on his face, his leaf green eyes intense as he watches her become more coherent, dressed in expensive looking clothes that looked tailored to his body and holding a cane.

She blinks a couple of times as he continues to look silently at her, eyes almost looking like turned a bright blue for a second, before she clears her throat and breaks the silence. “Um…hello. How long have I been here?” 

He cocks his head to the side, contemplating her. “About 15 minutes.” He says in a smooth English accent.

“Not too bad then. I don’t suppose anyone else was here with me? Also, where exactly is here?”

“I’m afraid you…arrived, alone. Out of a pool of bright light.” He adds in, eyebrow quirking up at her as she silently groans. “And I believe we’re in Germany presently. Might I ask where you expected to be?”

“You’re kidding me..Germany?” She says, trying to stand up and ignoring the momentary dizziness from it. “I’m going to kill them, I swear… I’m going to put laxatives in his cookies for a year. Halfway across the stupid globe…” She starts muttering under her breath as the stranger watches on amusedly, renoticing him halfway through her silent rant and blushing. “Sorry, I’m a lot farther away than I thought.” Suddenly something else occurs to her. “You’re awfully calm for someone who just saw a girl drop outta no where right in front of him.”

“Magic is not unknown to me, though I must say I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Oh good.” She says, relieved for some reason. “Because I’m still trying to get used to it. It would help if I had a little bit of control over it I guess, but that would be too easy I guess. At least didn’t land in front of someone who was gonna freak out and start running around like an idiot.” She walks over to the balcony and sees a large group of people down below, surrounding an assortment of various artifacts, and the man walks up beside her, looking down as well. A balding man below is giving some sort of speech. “Is this some sort of museum? Because that honestly looks like a two headed unicorn table.”

The man beside her gives a strained smirk, and she notices that he doesn’t look like he’s feeling very well. “It is. And that table is actually a fake. The real one is far beneath your pacific ocean, sleeping with the fishes as they say.”

Ashley gives a snort at that, and he glances over at her, surprised at her amusement. “Figures. People will believe anything you tell them. My name’s Ashley, by the way. What’s yours?”

He looks at her for a moment, gaging whether or not to tell her, before looking back down at the crowd below. “Loki.”

“Loki huh? That figures, you aren’t the only guy I’ve met to use that name. Tell me, are you a mischief maker as well? You planning on pulling some sort of bloody prank tonight?” When he looks back at her, slight shock in his eyes, she gives a tired smirk of her own. “Don’t look so surprised, the last Loki I met was big on violent pranks for a while, basically pranking anyone he thought deserved it with ironic justice. Of course, he wasn’t actually Loki, but he still enjoyed his jokes. Stuck two friends of mine in TV land for who knows how long, made one of them do a genital herpes commercial.”

“Sounds like someone I could get into trouble with. What did this Loki pretender do to you?”

“Me? He sent me and Gwaine to his place and we watched it all on TV with him. He said I was an innocent and liked that I thought it was funny, so he didn’t want to get me involved. I ended up figuring out who he really was and making friends with him because of that.”

“So you enjoyed his tricks then? You didn’t see his magic as unseemly?”

He sounds sad when he says this, and she looks over at him. “Not at all, why would I? If you’re good at something, you shouldn’t have to hide it. Well, I mean, if you’re good at killing small animals or something like that I wouldn’t suggest flaunting it, but magic? That’s something you should be proud of.”

“You’re a very strange female.”

“Thanks! So I gotta ask…does your mischief include a bit of bloodshed?” When he nods, she continues. “Is it something you feel you gotta do? And no talking will stop you?” Another nod. “Well, you better get at it then. It was nice to meet you Loki, or whatever your name is, but since no angels have dropped outta nowhere to fuss over me, I’m guessing I need to find a way to get a hold of someone in America since they apparently aren’t hearing me. Good luck.”

“You might want to wait until I’m done.” He says suddenly as she goes to head down the stairs. She turns around and looks at him. “Lest you get trampled as everyone runs screaming out of the building while I do my work. Look away if you cannot stand the sight of blood, or do not, it matters not to me.” 

“I…thank you.” She says, moving off the stairs to let him pass, confused that he would warn her, considering he seemed not to care about much, instead watching with a cold indifference. She goes to the balcony, curious as to what he’s up to, and watches as he walks with purpose down the stairs, making it to the bottom and swinging his cane up, knocking the guard beside him out before grabbing the man giving the speech around the neck and dragging him to the unicorn table, slamming him down on it. As she continues to watch, he takes a shiny metal tool out of it and switches it on, causing spikes to whirl round loudly right before he jabs it into one of the mans eyes, causing blood to fly as the eye is dislodges from his face. 

She understands what he means about panicking people now, as they freak out and start screaming, causing him to look around and start to smile at the chaos he created. She finds herself wondering as well what he could need the mans eye for, since he said it was something he needed to do. When he finally finishes he looks up, pleased, eyes seeming to change colors again, before he nods up at her and walks out. Breathing heavily, wondering how much trouble she’s in, she waits a couple of minutes and follows him out, everyone else gone from the building, and she really wishes she had that phone from Tony. At least she has her blade, not that she can use it to contact anyone, but she can defend herself if need be.

Walking out, she makes it in time to see a crowd running away once more, and a man that looks suspiciously like Captain America fighting with a man dressed in green and black leather armor, with a gold helmet adorned with large curving horns. Sneaking closer, she sees the leather clad man get knocked aside, noticing that it’s the man claiming to be Loki wearing it. The two continue to fight, some sort of jet hovering close by, ordering him to surrender as he gets kicked in the head by the Captain America look alike before knocking him aside.

Suddenly there is a rock song blaring from the intercom system of the jet, and a very familiar looking red and gold suit comes soaring towards them, blasting Loki with his energy cannon and knocking him against the steps, the glowing staff flying from his hands and towards her. As he struggles back up, Tony is joined by the look alike in standing in front of him, weapons out and looking menacing. “Make a move reindeer games.” Tony says, making her roll her eyes. To her surprise, Loki holds his hands up in surrender, armor shimmering and changing to simple leather clothes and a duster jacket, still in green and black. “Good move.”

Happy to see a familiar helmeted face, she steps out of her hiding place, picking up the scepter on her way over and noticing the strange hum of power coming from it, so unlike her archangels but powerful just the same. Frowning at it, she looks back up and runs over to the jet as they start herding a now handcuffed Loki into it. “Tony!” She yells, causing the genius to look over from where he was talking to the blue clad man with the nice ass.

“Charlies angel? What are you doing here?” He asks, voice muffled through the suit. “Shoudn’t you be back in the states teaching brainless teenagers? Or are you on a hunt with the too tall duo?”

“I wish.” She says with a loud sigh, noticing the others looking at her strangely. “Kind of a long story, but needless to say it’s an angels fault. Mind if I hitch a ride with you and whoever your friends are? My phone got left at home and I’m still confused why I’m here in the first place.”

“Eh, not my friends, but I’m gonna say hop aboard anyway. Mind if I take this?” He replies, escorting her on the ship and taking the scepter from her, handing to someone dressed all in black once they’re onboard and sitting next to her. “Welcome to the shady government program known as SHIELD, and a constant thorn in my handsome backside.”  
*********( )**********  
“Wait wait wait. Just, wait. You’re telling that’s actually Captain America? And Loki? As in god of mischief Loki?” She asks in disbelief once they finally take off and she swaps stories with Tony, a woman with red hair glancing back at her every once in a while with a suspicious expression. Loki was seated across from her, strangely silent the trip so far as he listened to the conversations taking place. Tony had removed his faceplate so he could talk to her more easily, and had given her an uncomfortable hug when she told him about Gwaine. Loki had actually flinched when she talked about it, making her wonder how many Norse myths were actually true.

“You hang around with angels and have a hard time believing Thor and Loki are real?”

“It’s not that, just that Gabriel used to pretend to be Loki, and Lucifer killed what he said were all the pagan gods on earth, so I thought they were dead. Crowley had mentioned something about tulpas before, but never got a chance to explain. And don’t ask what tulpas are, I’ll explain later.” She says, stopping him as his face takes on the same look he got when he started quizzing her on ghosts.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Tony says, smirking. “Now, we’re having sort of a situation right now, so we probably won’t be able to take you home at first, but we will eventually. Good news is, you get to see a real airship and hang out with me while I do science. Which is a treat in itself, because science is my bitch.”

“Oh joy.” She says dryly, causing him to grin. “I figured I wouldn’t be lucky enough to go straight home. As long as the woman in the front doesn’t try and murder me I should be good.”

“Agent Romanoff? Yea, she can be scary. Don’t worry, I’ll go tell her what’s what. Not like she can stop me, I’ll just hack back into the system. Be right back.” He stands up, walking over to talk to Captain America ( or Steve as he asked her to call him) and the scary redhead, and she takes the chance to look across at Loki, who’s staring back at her.

“Do you plan on showing your distaste for me now that you know the truth?” He sneers, taking her aback slightly. “Now that you know the golden boy Thor is real? That your friend is my enemy?”

Ashley simply shrugs, giving a him a smile. “If the stories are true, he doesn’t sound like someone I’d have fun around. I prefer someone with a few brains in their head, who won’t kill first ask questions never. I already had to convince two friends of mine not to do that anymore, and it took way longer than it should have.” He looks at her with his eyes narrowed. “Besides, I just saw you grind a guys eye out of his socket. If that doesn’t make me want to stop talking to you, I’m good.”

“And why exactly were you not perturbed by that? I assume it’s something humans don’t see often.”

“I told you, a friend of mine used to pretend to be you. He got very…creative with his pranks, and some of that creativity was pretty bloody. Only when they deserved it, of course, but still. That, and I traveled a lot with monster hunters…vampires and werewolves leave some big messes.”

He leans back in his seat, the sneer gone from his face. “You aren’t the norm for human females, are you?”

“Not at all. My life is filled to the brim with crap that would make some people wanna run away and hide in a hole for the rest of their life. I just happen to have friends to make it not so bad.”

“Like the wolf you lost.”

Her face crumples slightly. “Yes, like Gwaine. I’ll never be able to replace him. He helped to keep me sane and grounded, and was my constant companion.”

“I…had a son like that.” Loki says softly, causing her to look up at him, eyes wide. “My fath…Odin, was scared of him growing too powerful, so made up a prophecy saying my son would be the death of him. They led him to an overgrown island, where they tricked him and tied him to a stone and drove a sword through his jaw and into the ground. I begged for them to release him, but all they did was say it was for the best.”

“Fenrir?” She asks softly, and he nods.

“Yes, though he preferred Fenris. ”Loki said, then frowns. “I don’t know why I told you that, it is none of your concern.

“Maybe you just needed someone to share with, since it doesn’t seem like your brother is the listening type.”

“He is not my brother!”

“Adoption doesn’t matter if you grew up as family. “ She says with a shrug. “Most of the people I consider family aren’t related to me at all. That doesn’t stop me from caring about them. Tell me, Thor’s mom…do you still care about her? Would you be upset if she was hurt or got sick?”

“She cannot get sick.” Loki mutters, but doesn’t deny anything. Ashley smiles as she feels she’s proven her point, if only about his mother. As she looks over Tony seems to have won his argument, making his way back to her with Steve following close behind.

“It was a tough battle, but I got the point across.” He says with a smirk. “I told her you’re an asset for help with supernatural stuff, and could only help us. Also that I’ve hired you as a consultant and either you come along or neither of us come along. She accepted.”

“You also threatened to turn the jet off and let it free fall until she agreed.” Steve said deadpan.

“Semantics!” There’s a sudden echoing of thunder through the jet, causing Ashley and Loki to both jump as lightning strikes immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asks Loki, who looks up nervously. “Scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Loki responds, Ashley looking around as well as she gets his meaning. Suddenly there is a thud from atop the jet, causing everyone to look up. Tony puts his faceplate back on and opens the hatch, just in time for a muscled blonde man to fly into the jet, hammer in hand that could only be Mjolnir. Tony lifts his hand to try and blast Thor away, but gets knocked away before Thor turns to Loki, fear showing on the dark haired mans face. Ashley tries to get her belt unlocked so she can jump towards him, but before she can Thor grabs him by the throat and jumps out of the jet with him.

“Annnd now there’s him.” Tony says in irritation as Ashley finally gets unbuckled, and stands up. “Stay here with Romanoff, I’ll be back.”

“Think he’s a friendly?” Steve asks.

“Doesn’t matter, if he kills or free Loki, the tesseract is lost.”

“Stark wait, we need a plan of attack!”

“I have a plan: attack.” Tony says before flying off the same way Thor went. Steve shakes his head and grabs a parachute, strapping it on.

“I’d sit this one out Cap.” Romanoff calls out.

“I don’t see how I can.”

“These guys come from legend, they’re basically gods.”

“There’s only one god mam, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” Steve says before jumping off as well. Romanoff shakes her head while Ashley goes up to the front to watch and see if she can spot all of them, worried for all of them.

“He’s only partially right you know.” She mutters, causing Romanoff to look over in surprise.

“About what exactly?”

“God doesn’t dress like that. I’m pretty sure he dresses like a bachelor who stays home all day because he’s a bum and a deadbeat dad.”

Romanoff gives her a strange look. ”And the one god thing?”

“Well, we kind of have physical proof of Thor and Loki, don’t we? Plus I’ve met a couple others.”

“…Stark wasn’t exactly lying about you, was he?”

 

“More like bending the truth. I definitely know about supernatural crap, though I’m not sure how I can really help in this situation. I can promise to help though, if I can.” She gives the woman a grin. “ If anything it’s one more person to try and rein Tony in.” Romanoff smiles at that, though it’s a dark smile, and they both stay silent waiting for everyone to hopefully come back. Ashley spends the time trying to contact someone again, wondering why she isn’t getting through, but with no success. Was this one of the little quirks Gabe was talking about? Because if so they were going to be having one heck of a long conversation. Of course, she hadn’t tried for Crowley yet, but that was mainly because she had been told Growly was about to give birth, and she didn’t want to tear him away from that. Besides, he usually just ended up appearing where ever she was.

After about 30 minutes the bay door finally opens back up, and everyone piles back in, Steve being carried by Tony and Loki dragged in by Thor, again by the throat. Once the door shuts back and Loki is thrown back against the seat, Thor is startled to see a peeved looking young woman in front of him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. “Do you always grab your brother by the throat and haul him around? Because if so I don’t blame him all that much for trying to get away.” Tony and Steve both look on, Tony in amusement and fascination and Steve in horror. What’s wrong with you? Isn’t he supposed to be your brother?”

“I…he can handle it, he is not some weak little..”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, buster. You’re currently on a ship full of what you were probably going to say.” She says, poking him in the chest, not at all worried bout the fact he was a full head taller than her or at least 150 pounds heavier. “Frankly it doesn’t matter if he can handle or not, that shouldn’t be your first reaction to how to move him around you meathead! We don’t even treat prisoners like that, much less people we like!”

“In Asgard we use whatever means necessary to get the job done. And I was not hurting him, I was being gentle.” Thor replies, pouting a bit at being talked own by this little girl. Behind her, Loki snorts at Thors version of being gentle.

“Yea? Well you aren’t in Asgard right now, you’re on…what’s the word, Midgard? You’re on Midgard, and your way isn’t always going to be the best way. So suck it up, Buttercup, and stop making violence your first choice. You’re old enough, you must have a brain in that big blonde head of yours, use it.” With her rant finished, she plops beside Loki and crosses her arms, glaring at Thor until he finally looks away. Tony has a big grin on his face as she finishes, while Steve just looks back and forth between the two as if expecting something else to happen. Romanoff, however, is smirking from the front seat, having heard it all.

“Can I adopt you?” Tony asks, still smiling. “I know you’re an adult and all, but with that sass you could definitely be one of mine already. It comes with a shiny black card and all the toys you could ever want, some you might not want, and a nanny by the name of Pepper.”

“I know you don’t care, but do you really want Pepper to find out you called her your nanny?”

“Eh, she knows it’s true. I need round the clock watching apparently, even with her being the CEO of Stark industries. Wish she’d stop insisting I go to board meetings though, sitting still that long without having something to keep my hands busy is like a prison sentence, and they’re just so damn boring. Seriously though, you would make an awesome Stark, and I could make you a suit with a wing motif! What do ya say? ”

Ashley rolls her eyes at him, and he grins, winking at her, and turns around to talk with Romanoff, Steve taking a tentative seat across from them and attempting to start a conversation with the still pouting Thor. “You know, I think the one who has ever made him pout that much was our…his mother when she got to him for something.” Says a voice from beside her, and she glances over to see Loki looking at her. This close to him she notices how pale he is, the dark circles under his eyes, that for all purposes he looks almost like he’s fighting a fever. “I’m surprised, usually he doesn’t take to being told what to do very well.”

“Yea well, just because he’s a prince on Asgard doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants. Here he’s just another guys who can fly and is good at beating people up.”

“You say that like you know of others of the like.”

“More than you would think. Are you ok, by the way? You look like you don’t feel good.”

He looks startled for a moment that she would ask, and this time as his eyes flicker from green to sickly blue, there is a look of cruelty that flickers along with it. She sees as well that he has to work to change them back, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. “I’m fine, no need to worry yourself. I simply haven’t slept well lately. Bad dreams.” He looks away, ending the topic, and she sighs heavily, sensing a lie but letting it go for now.

“Is he always that rough with you?”

Loki leans his head against the wall, eyes closed. “He wasn’t lying when he said he was being gentle, his version of gentle just happens to leave bruises still. It was how we were raised, how he thinks he can toughen me up to be more of a warrior like him, instead of relying on magic and tricks.”

“What’s wrong with using magic? Does it not help?”

Loki smiles weakly. “Magic is supposed to be a womans art, not a mans. Men are expected to be almost exact replicas of Thor, all muscles and grunting and lack of brains. My using magic is something they look down on, no matter times it helps them in battle.”

“That’s kinda dumb, no offense. Some people are better suited for other ways of doing things. It’s like…if you have a fish and a squirrel, and tell them both to climb a tree, the fish will think it’s not as good as the squirrel because it can’t, when it’s just better at other things.”

He stares at her for a couple of seconds. “Are you calling me a fish? Because I have been known to change shapes from time to time, but fish was never one of them.”

“Seriously, that’s what you got from all that?”

He smirks, and she realizes he was joking with her. “Unfortunately, Asgard doesn’t see it that way.”

“Asgard sounds like it sucks for anyone who doesn’t fit the mold.”

“That it does.” He says softly. Thor looks over with a guilty look on his face, eyes pained. The rest of the trip is silent, other than the background noise of the jet, as everyone finds themselves in quiet contemplation.  
*************( )*************  
Finally making it to their destination, Ashley steps off of what looks a military sea base, with men running all over and lots of big expensive weapons everywhere. A nondescript looking man in a suit walks up to them, talking for a moment with Romanoff while Thor escorts Loki off of the jet, holding him by the arm this time instead of the neck. She glances over just in time to see his eyes turn that sickly blue again, before he wretches out of Thors grip.

“Unhand me, Odinsson!” He snarls, leaving Thor looking like a wounded puppy. “I do not need your help to walk! Or do you want to make sure your prisoner stays with you?”

“Brother..” Thor starts, before the man in the suit steps up.

“If you don’t mind, Thor, we actually have someplace perfect in mind to keep him from doing anything harmful, if you’ll release him over to us.”

“Son of Coul, it is good to see you once again. If you are sure it will hold him, so be it. Just remember, he is a prince of Asgard, and to be treated as such.”

“Prince of Asgard still? Surely you must jest!” Loki laughs darkly, and Ashley feels something strange coming from him.

“He wont be tortured, if that’s what you’re implying. And yes, we’re fairly sure.” He gestures beside him, and two files of soldiers march on either side of Loki, guns in hand. Loki has s smug look on his face as they start marching him away, eyes still that sickly blue as for a couple of seconds his gaze lands on Ashley and he grins, leaving her chilled to the bones and covered in goose pimples. She frowns, turning to Thor to ask him a question, instead coming face to face with the suit.

“You must be Ashley. Agent Romanoff says we picked you up at the same location we apprehended Loki.”

“Hey, Agent, leave her alone!” Tony says loudly, getting in between the two of them and glaring at him. “She’s an old friend, and has a perfectly legit reason for being randomly landed in the middle of Germany with no warning. She’s also my little helper with this whole deal, she carries all my snacks and claps when I do something amazing, so back off.”

“You have another thing coming if you think I’m gonna clap every time you do something you think is amazing, because I know you, and you’ll expect me to clap at everything you do. You would have me clapping for you standing there doing nothing.”

“Are you saying you won’t clap, but you’ll carry my snacks? Because I can work with that.”

“Agent Romanoff filled me in on the situation.” The suit says, interrupting before Tony could keep going. “We don’t plan on doing anything unless she gives us a reason, just wondering if she might be willing to help us, given the fact she’s the only one Loki has seemed receptive with.”

“I have a friend that acts a lot like him.” She says with a shrug, wondering how he knew her name when all Tony used was nicknames on her so far. “I don’t know how I could help though.”

“Call me Agent Coulson, and it may be as simple as talking with him. For now, however, we should get you all inside so we can take off. If you’ll follow me.” He turns around, clearly expecting them all to follow, and after sharing a glance with Tony she walks alongside him into the Helicarrier, popping the blueberry he offers her into her mouth, wondering what crapfest she was being involved in this time. Behind them, another agent carries the scepter Loki had been using, top glowing brightly like a beacon.


	2. Angry Goth Pirate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of the banter is taken from the avengers movie i dont own. Which is all of them.

Ashley and the others are led deep into the Helicarrier, Tony breaking off at one point to follow Agent Coulson somewhere, promising to meet back up with her when he gets the chance. Steve promises to keep an eye on her, something that has Ashley rolling her eyes, though secretly she’s glad that she won’t be completely alone. She spends most of the walk taking in her surroundings, something she learned traveling with Winchesters, in case she needs to remember her way around. Of course, it won’t help if the stupid thing is in the air, or in the water considering she can’t swim, but she maps it none the less.

They are all finally taken to a large room, likely the central hub considering the mass amounts of computers and people, as well as the enormous window overlooking the outside, clouds going by indicating that they are, in fact, airborne. They seat themselves at a circular table towards the back, joining a man with black, greying curly hair and a dark purple button up shirt, eyes halfway focused on a screen towards the middle of the table, though he’s momentarily distracted by the entrance of the others. She gives him a little smile when his confused glance lands on her, sitting next to him while the others take a seat as well, then offers him her hand. “Hiya, I’m Ashley. Were you snatched up too?”

“More or less.” He says after a moment, taking her hand for a brief moment and giving a tentative but firm handshake. “Still iffy on whether I should have came along or not. What about you? Uh, Bruce Banner, by the way.” 

She doesn’t recognize the name, though can tell by the way he draws back a bit that he expects her to react to it for some reason. “Oh, I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or right, whatever way you look at it. Either way, I’m lucky Tony came along, or I’d still be stuck in Germany with no phone or passport.” Suddenly she looks at the screen and frowns, turning her entire attention to it. “What exactly are we watching?” Steve and Romanoff turn towards it as well, faces serious, while Thor takes one look and turns away, just listening with a pained look on his face.

 

“That would be Fury putting Loki in the cage he built for me.” Bruce says in a slightly amused tone, and she gives him a brief considering glance.

“You don’t look the type to need a Hannibal Lecter type cage, though I’ve been wrong before. You hiding super strength or insanity under the ruffled smarty look?”

“Something like that.”

When he doesn’t elaborate, she looks back at the screen, Loki and a bald black man staring one another down while exchanging commentary with one another. She notices his eyes are staying green at the moment, though his skin is a pallid white, and he stays quite smug looking while talking. “Who is Loki talking to?”

“That’s Fury, he’s the director of SHIELD.” Steve offers, face a calm mask as he takes in the scene. “He calls all the shots here.”

“Yea? Well he looks like an angry goth pirate.” Ashley says matter of factly, noticing the little smirk that appears on not only Bruces face, but Romanoffs as well. She goes silent as they take in the rest of the conversation, listening to talk of ants and boots and real power. She flinches at the mention of killing for pleasure, and can’t help but glance for a moment at Thor, seeing his face grow more and more closed off, though his eyes tell just how sad he actually is. When Fury finally walks out after telling him to ask if he wants a magazine, they all sit back in their seats, minds whirring.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Bruce says from the spot he ended up standing, leaning over his chair with his hand on his chin in contemplation. 

“Loki’s gonna drag this out as long as he can.” Steve says, looking around at everyone at the table area. “So, Thor. What’s the play?”

“He has an army, called the Chitari.” Thor says, not facing the group as he stares off at the window. Ashley listens in, not filled in completely yet and ready to know what to expect. “They’re not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the earth. In return I suspect for the tesseract.”

“An army. From outer space.” Steve deadpans, and she would have laughed if it wasn’t such a serious situation.

“Another day, another Apocalypse.” She mutters to herself, gaining a curious look from Romanoff. “I swear, if this was Doctor Who, Earth would basically be the England of the Universe.”

“So, he’s building another portal then. That must be what he needs Selvig for.” Bruce adds in. “Since we don’t have a TARDIS on hand.” Ashley throws him a surprised grin, happy someone understood what she was talking about.

“Selvig?” Asks Thor, confused. “Eric Selvig?”

“He’s an astrophysicist.”

“He’s a friend. And what is this TARDIS? Could it be of help?”

Ashley hides her laugh behind a cough. “Eh, no. It’s from a TV show…hasn’t really been invented yet. A man uses it to travel through space and time.”

“Ah. I know not what this TV show is, but it is a shame this TARDIS is not readily available. You should look into building it right away. For now, where is Selvig?”

“Loki has him under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours.” Romanoff offers.

“I wanna know why he let us take him.” Steve throws in. “He’s not leading an army from here.”

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki. That guys brain is a bag full of cats.” Bruce says, taking off his glasses as he paces.

“He seemed ok at the museum.” Ashley throws in, causing everyone to focus on her. “He didn’t threaten me, hurt me, insult me or anything like that.”

“Perhaps he thought he could get something from you?” Romanoff suggests, and Ashley glances her way with a frown.

“I…I don’t think so. He seemed more curious than anything. He answered my questions, told me the two headed unicorn table was a fake, even admitted he was about to do what he considered a bloody bit of mischief. Hell, he warned me to wait to leave until he was done so I wouldn’t get trampled by the freaked out masses.”

“He was oddly polite to her on the jet, as well.” Steve adds in, face thoughtful.

“And he never once tried to use his staff on you?”

“The blue glowing one with the weird power coming from it? Nope. I think he was mainly thrown off by the fact I didn’t think his using magic was unseemly, in his words, and that I have a friend a lot like him. He doesn’t have many friends back in Asgard, does he?” The last part she aims at Thor, who frowns at her.

“Not really, no. And take care of how you speak of him Banner, he is of Asgard and my brother.”

“He killed 80 people in two days.” Romanoff says icily.

“…He’s adopted.”

“Geez. No wonder he acts the way he does. You can’t pick and choose when he does something disagreeable.” Ashley says with a scowl.” Either he’s your brother or he isn’t. Adoption doesn’t matter.”

“Getting back on topic, what do they need the irridium for?” Banner asks.

“Stabilizing agent” Says a familiar voice, and Tony pops up from a hallway with Agent Coulson, whispering something to him about flying somewhere. Ashley takes the chance to, while Tony takes over as the center of attention as he’s prone to do, to switch the screen back on and peek back at Loki, messing with her ring as something niggles away at the back of her mind. Loki seems to be pacing calmly back and forth inside the cage, glancing every one in a while up at the camera with an eerily calm smile. He reminds her so much of a mix between Gabriel and Lucifer it’s scary, and she wonders what all happened to him to make him this way. She has a good starting idea, stemming from Thors muttering about adoption, as well as her talks with Loki in the jet, but knows that there has to be something else in between those things to finally make him snap. She feels eyes on her, and glances up, Tony’s voice still droning on in the background, something about a big green rage monster, and finds Romanoff looking at her intently. Staring back at her she continues to fiddle with her ring, eyes sad and confused for the man in front of her, only looking away when her attention is yanked back.

“I understand that reference!” Steve had said loudly, causing everyone to look at him for a couple of seconds.

Tony just cocks his head at him before turning to Bruce. “Shall we play, doctor?” Then, after Bruce nods, he glances over at Ashley. “Come, food assistant, we’re off to do Science!”

When she rolls her eyes and stands to follow the two, Fury stands in her way, blocking her from the two. “Just one damn minute Stark. I need to have a little talk with your assistant here. You go on ahead, and I’ll send her your way when I’m done with her.”

Tony looks as if he wants to argue, but Ashley stops him before he can. “Go on, Tony. You sciencing is what’s important right now. I’ll catch up to you in a little bit. Me and the pirate need to have a talk, that’s all.”

“Fine. But if you hurt her, Fury, you’ll find I’m a very bad man to cross, even if you have your own army.” Tony says, pointing at his own eyes then pointing at Fury, who just stares back impassively until Tony leaves.

“Follow me.” Fury says, then turns to start walking. Ashley follows close behind, surprised when Romanoff comes as well. He leads them both up a level and into an area accessed by thumbprint and eye scan, then into what must be his personal office, and she sits in one of the two chairs on the guests side of the desk. Romanoff takes the other, and both stay quiet as Fury settles himself into his own chair, then joins his hands and stares at the girl for a couple of moments. “So. You must understand our position. You just happen to show up at the exact place that the person we’re tracking is, a friend of Tony Starks, then catch a ride back with us, all the while being the one person Loki is decent to. You see where I’m going with this?”

“Yea, I see it. And honestly I have no explanation for most of it, at least ones that will satisfy you that is. Something I have no control over decided to transport me halfway across the freaking globe, right in front of a guy wanting to carve another guys eye out. I consider myself pretty lucky Tony showed up, because I don’t have a phone or ID on me, and the idea of a German jail sounds horrible.”

“How about Loki being nice to you? Care to explain that? Because if it wasn’t for the fact your eyes aren’t glowing blue I would think you’re one of his brain washed minions.”

“No clue. I’m nice to him and don’t treat him like a freak, for one.” She says, a bit angrily, and his eyes narrow. “Look, I don’t have any revealing answers for you, other than the fact that because of a friend of mine, I can’t be possessed or brainwashed. I don’t know Loki’s plan, and he likely wouldn’t tell me, no matter how much he seems to not actively hate me. All I can tell you is that to me, I don’t think he’s all that well. He looks almost like he’s sick, and may not even be in his right mind. So unless you have any more questions for me, I can’t help you.”

Fury stares at her for a couple of seconds, silently as he contemplates her, before taking a manila folder from Romanoff. “I believe you.” He finally says, opening it up. “Ashley Roeswood, 28 years old, no priors, left home for Beacon Hills when her sister died. Teaches music variety at a high school, recently seen in the company of one Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester. Seen involved in the strange happenings a couple of months ago, which stopped all of a sudden after a series of mysterious weather and deaths. Known for helping in the hunt of several unknown creatures as well as being in the company of several beings of unknown origin and powers.” He closes the folder and looks back up at her. “Sound about right?”

Her hands had tightened around the arm rests on the chair as he spoke, face going white. When he finally stopped speaking she seriously considered taking out her blade and going for his other eye. “You do this thorough of an investigation of everyone who’s a guest on this flying oil rig?”

“All part of the job. You should see how deep we go for employment.”

“Yea, no thanks. Sounds like you know everything about me already, so what else could you possibly need?”

“Considering your involvement in the last series of events that happened around the globe, it seemed almost too much of a coincidence for you to show up this time as well. However, since the Winchesters don’t seem to be around this time, or any of your other friends that for some reason we can’t seem to identify, I thought it would be easier asking you instead locking you up. So, what do I need, exactly? I’d like to know what happened a couple of months ago, and if it has anything to do with what’s going on now.”

“And then I can go back to Tony?”

“You may.”

“How do you know I won’t lie to you? Do you plan on strapping me to a lie detector?”

Fury smirks, a frightening sight. “There’ll be no need for that. If between myself and a trained assassin we cant tell if you’re lying or telling the truth, then we don’t deserve our jobs.”

Ashley looks over at Romanoff, who gives her a brief nod, then gulps, readying herself. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I can, but there’s a chance you might not believe me anyway. Well, maybe you will. How much do you know about the creatures I helped the Winchesters hunt?”

“Varying strengths and powers.” Romanoff says from beside her. “Thought at first to be mutants, however we aren’t quite sure about that. The ones hunted generally left trails of bodies in their wake, as well as other strange and often bloody patterns. Not as often, others have been briefly caught healing or helping someone, changing forms or just straight disappearing without a trace. We’ve asked Charles Xavier for help tracking them as the leading mutant authority considering his school, but nothing ever comes up.”

“Well, you have part of it right.” Ashley says with a sigh, leaning back a missing her wolf, her Gwaine. “He wouldn’t be able to track them because they aren’t mutants, not in the way you classify them that is. They are generally classified as monsters, or supernatural creatures if you want to use the nicer term. Vampires, demons, shape shifters, werewolves, witches…all real. Basically anything you ever heard a legend or scary story about is pretty much real. I was traveling around with the Winchesters learning how to hunt and stop the bad ones.”

“You’re right.” Fury says with a scowl, staring hard at her. “You don’t seem to be lying but I’m finding it hard to believe the stuff coming out of your mouth. And what do you mean bad ones? Wouldn’t any monster be a bad one?”

“No.” She says, scowling right back at him. “And I had to push that same thought out of Sam and Deans heads. Not all supes are evil. Half the time they’re regular people turned against their will and fighting the urges tooth and nail. Sometimes they’re adopted by parents who have no idea they aren’t human and are instilled with the same ethics Steve has, and other times they just want to blend in and be normal. I have a whole group of turned teenage werewolves back at Beacon hills who just to be able to complain about their homework and be awkward around the opposite sex like normal kids, but instead they spend most of their time defending the town and themselves from crazy murdery people. That’s actually what we were doing right before I got beamed to Germany.”

“Teenage werewolves?”

“That’s the only thing you got from all that? Yes, teenage werewolves. Ones who don’t crave raw meat and who only bring out the claws when they need to. Also, go after them and I promise you’ll regret it.”

“Is that a threat, Miss Roeswood?”

“That’s a promise. You go after my kids, I go after you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. As long as they don’t cause problems, they’ll be no need to look into them. And what happened a couple of months ago?”

She smirks. “The Apocalypse.” 

He stares at her, an epic bitch face if there ever was one. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Nope.”

“As in end of the world? Angels coming down and smiting everything? Straight from the bible? That Apocalypse?”

“Yep. Some angels are just huge dicks like that.”

He glares at her, something that should intimidate her but she’s seen Derek do it one too many times for it to affect her anymore. “Then why exactly aren’t we all dead? The world turned to ash? Me in heaven not having to deal with dumb asses anymore?” 

“We stopped it. Duh.”

“You know, I can see why Tony likes you. How did you stop it?”

 

“We….convinced the main antagonist that he needed to give humanity a chance. After that, all we had to do was convince his brother that total destruction and an epic angel vs demon battle wasn’t necessary. Not that he listened at first, but he eventually saw the light.”

“You hesitated. Is that all?” Romanoff asks quietly from beside her, and she turns halfway to face the redhead.

“Remember what I said on the jet? About Steve only being part right?” Romanoff nods after a moment. “I have a very good reason for knowing that.” When it dawns on Romanoff what she’s implying, her eyes go wide for a moment before settling back down into their usual state, and Ashley turns back to Fury. “And no, as far as I know it has nothing to do with what’s going on now. If it did, there’s a good chance I would have some more friends here by now, cussing everyone out and causing more mayhem and headaches than Tony ever could. And that’s everything I know.”

Fury stares at her for a couple of seconds, good eye twitching as she sits there with her arms crossed. “Fine. Romanoff, take her back to Stark. And I’m warning you, anything strange goes on around you and I’m throwing you in with Loki.”

“Not really a threat to me.” She throws back as she exits the room, smirk on her face as she waits for Romanoff to finish speaking with Fury. Once the redhead exits as well, the both start making their way quietly down the hallways. It’s once they enter an elevator that Romanoff finally breaks the silence.

“You were talking about angels, weren’t you?” She says quietly, and Ashley peers over at her, a bit surprised. “You said it was supposed to be an epic angel vs demon battle, then that angels could be dicks as well. Was it an angel trying to start the Apocalypse?”

“Yea, it was.” Ashley finally confirms, looking back forward. “The archangel Michael and angel Zachariah, to be exact. They thought it was Gods will for the battle to happen, and tried to force Sam and Dean into accepting roles that would help it go through. Those two are stubborn as hell though, and for once it was a good thing. Both refused no matter what, and with the help of a couple of others we finally put a stop to it.”

“More angels?”

She looks over again with a chuckle. “Yea, you’re definitely a spy. Yes, we had help from angel. We also had help from a demon, an archangel, our friend Bobby and…well…Lucifer.” Romanoff snaps her gaze on Ashley this time disbelievingly. “I know, farfetched sounding as it might sound, it’s the truth. I convinced him to give us mud monkeys a chance, and when he tried to protect me from Michaels attack God showed up outta no where and made him an archangel again. That’s how I know it’s not connected with what’s going on now…if it was they’d tell me.”

“That’s a lot to try and believe at once, you know.”

“Considering you just met Loki and Thor, I’m pretty sure you can manage. By the way, should I just keep thinking of you as Romanoff? Or is there an actual name I can call you?”

“You can call me Natasha.” She finally says, turning to face the elevator doors once more, Ashley following suit. “No wonder you weren’t afraid to poke Thor in the chest, if you faced down what you told Fury. You would make a good agent.”

“Not at all, I’m horrible with authority figures most of the time, I tend to yell back, or poke back as you saw. And Thor’s got nothing on Luci. Gabe either, for that matter, he’d distract him with pop tarts that he probably roofied then just wait for him to drop like a beached whale while chomping on a snickers.”

“I hate to ask…but what would Luci do? And I’m assuming you’re calling the devil Luci.”

“Not the devil any more, but yea. And Luci? Luci has bit of an anger problem, so would probably just beat him over the head until he was knocked out while verbally emasculating him.”

“….Is it bad I’m actually interested in seeing both of those things happen?”

“Not at all. Stick around me and it probably will.”  
***********( )*************  
Natasha drops Ashley off in front of a sliding door, telling her that she’ll be back after doing an assignment that Fury gave her, leaving her to the clutches of Tony and the cute but scruffy Bruce Banner. Readying herself, she walks in just in time to see Tony prodding the other with some sort of electric zapper, causing Bruce to jump.

“Care to explain why you feel the need to agitate poor Bruce?” Ashley asks from the open doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. “Because I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with science.”

“Charlies angel! You escaped the clutches of Fury!” Tony says with a grin, turning away from a relieved Bruce. “And I’ll have you know this is totally for science! I’m trying to see how much it takes to get the good doctor here to let loose, break out of shell, and whatever other figure of speech I can eventually come up with for releasing the beast.”

“Why, exactly?”

“That’s what I keep wondering.” Bruce says weakly, moving slowly away from Tony to get to another computer screen hanging in the air. “He probably won’t like it if I do.”

“Whatever. Can’t actually find out if I don’t meet the guy. Blueberry?” Ashley takes the offered snack, sitting on a high stool and watching the two move around the room with purpose. “So what did the dread pirate want? He threaten you any? Because I’d love a reason to throw a virus or 4 into their mainframe and watch it eat itself.”

She gives a soft laugh, fully believing he would. “Nothing I could take seriously, don’t worry. He was mainly showing off the fact he had a folder full of information on me, and wanted to know what happened a couple of months ago, if it was connected to what’s going on now. I told him what he needed to know then high tailed it out of there. I like Natasha though…she hides a sense of humor under that scary assassin façade.”

“She’s also a spy, and trained to make people see what she wants when it comes to herself. Don’t trust her too far, she’ll use it against you.”

“Yea yea, I get ya. Don’t trust the scary spy in the skintight leather cat suit. On another note, why is it bad if you, as Tony says, lets loose the inner beast? Some times it is good to let loose a bit.”

“See!” Tony says accusingly, or says as well as he can with a mouth full of half chewed blueberries, pointing at Bruce.

“Yes, but there’s a difference between Tony letting loose and me letting loose.” Bruce says, taking off his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. “When Tony does it, he gets drunk and wakes up where ever he happens to land.”

“You know, I should be offended by that, but it’s honestly the truth.”

“When I let loose…well…do you remember when Harlem got destroyed a while back? Well, that was me.”

She frowns, hopping off the stool and walking up to him, looking into his confused face as if looking for something. After a while she smiles. “You don’t look like a giant green destroyer of cities. Is like a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde thing?”

He looks surprised when she doesn’t back away in fear, instead acting like it’s no big deal. “Err, a bit. When I get angry or injured the other guy usually pops out, goes on a bit of a rampage. Certain members of the military see me as a threat because of that, so I usually stay hidden.”

“Which was it in Harlem?”

“What?”

“I remember you fighting someone else big in Harlem, looked like you were trying to stop him. So which was it, angry or injured?”

“I…actually changed on purpose that time. I convinced the General who captured me that I was the only one who could stop him, after they went to the trouble to create him by mixing the super serum with some of my blood and injecting him with it. It made him mutate and go insane.”

“What’s the big deal then?” She asks, walking back over to her stool and jumping on, throwing another blueberry in her mouth. “You did a bit of damage because you were trying to stop a crazy guy from hurting people, sometimes that’s impossible to prevent. Sounds like you were the good guy in that respect.”

Bruce stares blankly at her, mouth gaping like a fish. “That’s not the popular opinion.” He finally says weakly. “But it’s a nice thought. You wouldn’t think it if you actually met the other guy, though.”

”I’ll decide for myself when I meet him, thank you very much.” She says, causing Tony to grin like an idiot at the other man. “So, Tony, any chance you can bring up the video feed from Loki’s cell?”

“Duh. Any reason why?”

“Just a weird feeling I guess. Something keeps niggling at my brain that I should be able to see, but it just won’t pop up, and it has to do with him.”

“Whatever. Keep watching reindeer games if you want, I’ll be over here doing stuff that would make your brain hurt if I tried to explain. Oh, and watching my little bug break into all of SHIELDs files. And it’s two against one Banner!” He yells at Bruce before pressing a number of buttons and bringing up a screen in front of her. 

“Thanks Tony.” She says, getting a dismissive wave in return. She turns to the screen and gives it her full attention, noticing that Natasha is standing behind him, Loki not sensing her there yet. He stands there, hands clasped behind his back, eyes downcast as he seems deep in thought. Once more, she finds herself wondering how he could have started down the road he was now on. It had to be more than simply finding out he was adopted. Perhaps something happened when he fell off the now shattered rainbow bridge? Natasha had told her a bit about it when they exited the elevator, and it just didn’t make sense to her. On the screen, Loki finally turns to face Natasha, a tiny smile taking up a corner of his mouth.

“There you are you naughty girl. Do you know you have two freaked out archangels looking for you?” Ashley starts, nearly falling off of her stool, then spins around to face an amused looking Balthazar. “And here I find you on this floating military base, watching the strangest soap opera ever. What ever is to be done with you?”

“Balthazar!” Ashley cries, surging forward and hugging the surprised angel tightly. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m complaining, it’s good to see your scruffy face!”

“Don’t forget handsome and charming.” He says with a smirk. “And I was in the neighborhood below, just happened to sense you. Which is strange, because apparantly Gabriel can’t, and you’re connected to him by that bit of grace he stuck in you.”

“Dude, I have no clue, I’ve sent prayers their way a couple of times, but no answer. They mentioned my grace might be developing a couple of quirks, maybe it’s blocking them?”

“Uh, Ashley? Can I assume this is another angel buddy?” Tony asks from behind her. “Because if so, I already like him better than trench coat angel. No offense to him, but this one is snarky, and I like snarky.”

“What? Oh yea, this is Balthazar. Balthazar, this is Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, scientists extraordinaire. Tony here picked me up from Germany when I somehow crash landed there.”

“Charmed, of course.”

“Not to be the voice of reason or anything, but how exactly did he just pop in like that?” Bruce asks, skin looking faintly green but slowing fading back to normal.

“Tony, think you could fill him in?”

“Come’ere Doc, I’ll give you the low down on why her nickname’s what it is…” Tony says, pulling Bruce away and handing him a granola bar pulled from who knows where.

“So why haven’t they taken you home yet? And what’s with the peep show?” Balthazar asks, looking at the screen curiously. “Because my brothers are having kittens looking for you.”

“They’re having a bit of an issue here I was kind of dropped into. See that guy down there? He’s trying to bring an alien army here through a portal. Everyone thinks he’s just insane and revenge driven, but something else seems wrong, something I just can’t put my finger on. I’ll probably kick myself once I figure it out, too.”

“I swear, you lot just can’t catch a break. One problem gets solved, then two more pop up. I do say though, he seems to be antagonizing the redhead. Oh, hello there big boy, something I can help you with?”

Ashley glances over to see Thor entering the room, looking downtrodden still, like a kicked puppy. “Oh, hey Thor. You ok?”

“Aye. Something off seems to be coming from the room, and I felt the need to check on your progress. Is the Widow trying to question my brother? It will not work, he is a master of mind games.”

“The off you’re feeling is likely that bloody rod. I know my weapons, and that thing is meant to start messing with your sensitive human emotions.” Balthazar says, gesturing to the scepter on the table. “I suggest locking it away before it can, or destroying it.”

“What, you mean the glow stick of Destiny?” Tony asks, glancing over at it.

“If that’s what you’re calling it, then yes.”

“Do you have something we could put it in, block off whatever it is?” Ashley asks the angel, glancing up with a pleading look. “Pretty sure this is a very bad place for emotions to be messed with. Please?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Balthazar snaps, and the scepter is immediately enclosed in a gleaming silver box, sigils carved on it. “That should work, I use it to keep the more dangerous weapons in. Any of you feeling better?”

“I actually do.” Bruce says, looking surprised. “It was as if there was a whispering in my mind that suddenly stopped.”

“Same here. The need to poke you has gone down considerably. Still there, just not as strong.”

“Oh good, always glad to help. By the way, the redhead looks upset. I think the goth said something to her.”

“He’s not a goth. And thank you for the box.” Ashley says, looking at the screen again, noticing his eyes have gone that sickly blue again. Suddenly something is jarred, and she remembers her talk with Fury. More importantly, she remembers a small part of it. “Hey Thor? Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course Lady Ashley. What is it?”

“What color are Loki’s eyes? Did he ever change their color?”

“Not that I can recall. Mother always told him how much she loved his eyes, so no matter what form he took, he would keep his eyes the same, just for her.”

“As much as his shapeshifting eye color interests me, and I mean every bit of sarcasm in that, is this going anywhere?”

“Oh for the love of….Tony, look closely at the screen.” Tony cocks his eyebrow at her but does as asked, coming forward and peering closely at the screen. “Tell me, what color are Loki’s eyes now?”

“They look like they’re blue…so what?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a genius? Thor just his eyes are green. What was the first lesson we taught you when we saved you from the demon that took over your body?”

Tony concentrates for a second. “Let’s see…you had me get my tattoo, keep salt on me…when someone’s possessed their eyes turn black…” His eyes go wide as he finally gets her meaning. “Holy shit, you think Prancer is being possessed?”

“Maybe not by a demon, but I definitely think someone else is pulling his strings. Every time his eyes go blue he gets mean and cruel, and when he’s fighting it is when he starts looking sick. What if when he fell from the bridge, something got a hold of him? Something that wants the Chitari here?”

“It’s very likely.” Balthazar says contemplatively. “Demons aren’t the only beings that can control the mind, and you lot are far from the only beings in the universe. Hell, that’s not even taking into account other dimensions and alternate realities.”

Both Tony and Bruce stare at Balthazar as if he’s grown another head. “When all this crap ends, we’re going to have a very long session of picking your brain.”

“As long as there is an acceptable wine, I’ll take up that offer.”

“Have you met me? I can afford whatever you might think up.”

“Why are we still talking? We must get this being out of my brother!” Thor thunders, voice echoing in the tiny room. “This injustice must be avenged!”

“But how? I don’t see Fury letting us perform an exorcism. Hell, he barely wants me in the Helicarrier.” Tony says, and Ashley glances at the screen for a moment as Natasha struts from the room, making a split second decision.

*Balthazar. Can you get me into the cage with Loki?* She sends Balthazar, getting a curious look and a nod in return. *Good. When I stop talking, send us there, then make sure no one interferes. I have an idea, but can’t go through with it if they open it up before I’m done. They can enter the room, but no other interference.*

“You’ve gone awfully quiet.” Bruce comments, looking over at her as her and Balthazar silently communicate. “Do you have an idea?”

“I do…just, don’t freak out at what I’m about to do, okay?” She says, right before Balthazar puts a hand on her shoulder and they both disappear. All three man look around in confusion for a couple of seconds, not quite understanding what just happened.

“Um, where did they go?” Bruce asks, scratching his head.

Tony goes pale and looks back at the screen, where Ashley has suddenly appeared in the cage with Loki. “Oh fuck, what are you thinking?” He growls. “She’s in the cage with Loki. We need to get down there now!”

“My brother might hurt her in his current state, it is not safe for her!”

All three of them race out of the room, heading towards the direction of the cage, passing Fury, Natasha and Steve on the way but not bothering to answer any questions, just telling them all to shut up and follow. 

Well, Tony tells them, anyway.


	3. The hold is Broken

“Tell me why we’re running?” Natasha asks loudly as they all sprint down the halls, Banner in the back trying to stay calm even though he’s running like a crazy person. “And if you tell me to shut up again Stark, I’m gonna take a page from Agent Coulson and taze your ass.”

“Kind of wondering that myself.” Fury growls from beside her. “Along with why neither of you are tracking the damn tesseract, the one job you were specifically given.”

“Ashley had a theory about Loki, sir.” Steve explains as they turn a corner. “Problem is, she didn’t wait around to have someone go with her so she could test it.”

“Also, pretty sure you wouldn’t let us in.” Tony comments loudly. “Considering how tightly you have him locked up in his glass cage.”

“Of course I wouldn’t let anyone in, he’s a dangerous nut job! Are you telling me that between the four of you, you couldn’t stop a civilian from going to his cage on her own? You couldn’t just pick her up by her shirt and let her dangle in midair? And for another thing, when did we start listening to civilians we randomly picked up about war criminals?”

“Hey long john spy man, she didn’t exactly tell us she was going to stop her in the first place! Her buddy popped the both of them away before we got a chance!”

“What friend?! How the hell did someone else get on the Helicarrier without me knowing about it? Or at all, considering we’re midair?” 

“I’ll put it to ya this way. You know how I’ve always been an atheist pretty much? Well not anymore, and not because of point break here.”

“Stark, if you tell me there’s another god on the Helicarrier, I’ll shoot you in both kneecaps.”

“Geez, anger management much? Don’t worry, the only two so called gods on here are Viking Ken and Emo Snowflake.”

“Thank whoever for small freaking miracles.”

“There is an angel though. Snarky British sounding one in a V-neck, likes wine.” Tony smirks as he hears the vessels exploding in Fury’s brain, not regretting it for a second.

************( )************

Said angel was currently guarding the entrance to the cell room, arms crossed as he watches the exchange in front of him take place. As soon as they had entered the room, Loki gazing at this with a curious expression, Ashley had asked Balthazar to put her in the cage with him. Obviously there was some doubts on his end about how that was in any way a smart idea, but she assured him that he could simply pop her out if he felt he needed to. However, she pushed that he only needed to if it looked like she was in immediate danger.

“If they ask, I’m going to insist that this was entirely your idea.” Balthazar says, staring down at her with a frown. “I mean, technically is actually is your idea, but the last thing I need is the ex Satan on my ass for letting you room with someone possibly possessed by an otherworlder. I enjoy being corporeal, thank you. Bodies come in handy.”

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen. And if it does, I’ll keep you out of it as much as possible, except for the rescue. If anything, that will earn you brownie points with him.”

“In a perfect world, pet, he doesn’t find out I’m still around at all, but alas, thing happen.” Balthazar peers down at her. “You sure that you want in there? He looks unstable. And way too curious, which can be just as bad.”

“I’m sure. He’s fought whatever it is a couple of times around me, maybe I can find out something.”

“The Winchesters really have rubbed off on you. You’re gonna get hurt trying to help everyone.”

“Hasn’t happened yet, knock on wood, so I gotta keep doing it. Now, stick me in.”

“I’m fighting to not say a dirty joke I hope you know.” He mutters before snapping his fingers and sending her in, watching closely for anything detrimental to her health. While he wasn’t as enamored by the girl as his brothers were, he could see why there were, and she seemed to be a good influence on the both of them. Besides that, he knew how torn Gabriel would be if anything happened to her, and Gabriel had been his only brotherly contact when he left heaven, something that brought the two of them closer than they normally would have been. The last thing he wanted was his friend and brother to go through a mixed bag of depression and anger from her being injured, much less Lucifer doing the same. Especially since Lucifers version would be far more bloody for everyone, involved or not.

Blinking, she finds herself standing in front of the confused demi-god, very light sweat dotting his brow but eyes the brilliant green for the time being. They both stay quiet for a couple of seconds kind of staring each other down, one trying to figure out the situation, while the other tries to figure out how to best start the conversation. She finally swallows hard, hoping this isn’t the dumbest move ever, and dives in. “Ummm…hi there. Enjoying the weird glass cage? You’re sweating again by the way, still not feeling good? Oh by the way are you being possessed?” She mentally face palms at how dumb that sounds, wondering how she suddenly turned into an awkward teenager again as her eyes widen at her voiced brain vomit.

Loki, on the other hand, goes paler than he already was, something that should be impossible, letting her know she’s on point. It only lasts a second, however, before his face melts back into his usual mask. His eyes stay a bit panicked though, something she can only tell from spending so much time around angels and demons who show most emotions through said eyes. “Me? Possessed? I’m not some tool like the agent Barton I took from them. I am a king among mortals, all of you ants under my boot, waiting to see if I show mercy or step down. You’re very mistaken, girl.”

“See, I hear you saying that. And I’m sure there’s a lot of people who might expect you to say something like that.” She says, side stepping in a circle, following his movements. “Problem is, I’ve been around possessed people before, and a couple of things keep jumping out at me. Like that fact that every time you seem to having a civil conversation with me, you look like you’re fighting to stay in control since you aren’t acting all high and mighty. And the fact that every time you say or do something really horrible, your eyes change color from that bright green to the sickly blue of that stupid glowing rod Balthazar locked away for us so it wouldn’t affect anyone else. Sound about right so far?”

It’s about this time that the others skid into the room, Fury glaring at the two of them with his one good eye, not that it does any good as the two people he’s aiming it at are paying no attention to him whatsoever. He tries to take a step forward next to Balthazar, but the angel waves his hand nonchalantly, not even looking at the group behind him, and Fury bounces against what seems to be an invisible wall. “Nuh uh, no one gets past until she’s done, so I suggest you stand there and listen for something important while you have the chance.” Fury looks as if he wants to press his luck, but stops when Natasha steps up, placing her hand on his shoulder and shaking her head silently.

Tony however has no such compulsions, and steps up next to Fury, peering into the cage as close as he can get. “She gonna be safe in there British Airlines? Just cuz he was ok with her earlier doesn’t mean he won’t still try something, and she’s just trusting enough to not see it coming. I’d hate for my future adoptee to come to a nasty end because of her uncommon glass half full nature.”

“If he tries anything I’ll snap her out before you mind can comprehend what’s going on. And do come up with a better nickname, I’m an angel, not an airplane.”

Before Tony can try again, Ashley starts speaking again, drawing everyone’s attention. “You wanna talk about it? It seemed pretty easy for you on the jet. No judging, I promise. Maybe I can help you.”

Loki laughs, a dark one filled with pain and loathing as he stares at her tensely. “You, help me? I fail to see how a simple human girl could help me, even if I needed it. You overestimate my tolerance of you. Now leave, before my tolerance turns to annoyance, however it is you got in.”

“Why? Because you’re having a hard time keeping whatever’s possessing you from breaking out? Every time you do, you start to look sick. Please, at least let me try.” She tries to take a step forward, and Loki’s eyes switch to blue, a snarl forming on his lips.

“He is mine!” Loki growls loudly, causing her to freeze in her tracks, everyone else staring in shock at the abrupt change in not only his tone, but in his switch into third person speaking. Thor in particular gazes worriedly at his brothers, fears being confirmed, while Fury takes on a look of calculation. “You cannot take my puppet, he will destroy you all and help me open a portal, so that my army can bring your world to its knees! You will all be obliterated! “He starts laughing manically, eyes gleaming as he bares his teeth at her, taking a step forward as his hands start glowing green from the telltale signs of magic. In the middle of it however he stops, gripping his head painfully as he eyes switch back and forth a couple of times before settling on his natural green. “You…you must leave. I cannot hold him back for very long. He wishes for me to destroy you.”

Ashley goes slowly towards him instead, hands out in front of her. “But you don’t want to, so you’re fighting him. Did he possess you willingly? I need to know Loki, if I’m gonna try and help you.”

“Of course I wasn’t willing, but that hardly matters now! You must not be quite as intelligent as I thought, since you continue to ignore my warning and stay in here.”

“Of course it matters! It matters to me, and I know it matters to Thor…he sees you as his brother, no matter what race you are. If you’re being forced to do these things, it’s only right for me to help! Do you want this thing stuck in your head?”

“Do I look like a fool? Of course not!”

“Then let me help you if I can.”

“Fine, but how? You’re human last I checked, and your Midgardian science does not account for cases like this. Asgard might know, but my oaf of a brother has no time to run to them.” Suddenly he clutches his head once more, going down on his knees as he squeezes his eyes shut, yelping in pain. “You are losing time! I have not before blocked him for this long, and he wishes to keep me, mind intact or not!”

“Brother!” Thor yells, surging forward and bouncing off the wall. “Let me through this infernal barrier, my brother is in pain, can you not see? This creature means to destroy his mind to keep him from us!”

“She said not to let anyone thru until she was done, and I intend to do that. Don’t wave that thing at me either, or I’ll turn you into a newt, blonde hair and all.”

“Is this for real?” Fury asks Thor before he can throw his hammer at the angel. “Is there really something holding your brothers strings, or is this another act? Because from what I’ve heard he’s pretty good at being believable.” 

“Loki would never show such weakness for a simple act, it goes against his nature.” Thor growls out, not looking at the Director. “Something must have gotten ahold of him when he fell from the bridge, something in the dark of the universe.”

“Well then how do we get him unpossessed? Can we exorcise him?” Tony asks, directing it at Balthazar.

“If he was a demon, yes…I could do it with no trouble. This thing is no demon, however. I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t like losing control of its toys.”

Ashley was meanwhile wracking her brain for something, anything, that could help. She knew there wasn’t much time, and that Balthazar would have taken care of it if he could, but as he said, it was no demon. Loki was shaking in pain in front of her, head clutched in his hands, and she couldn’t do anything! Not only that, but whatever had him planned on using him to invade and destroy the earth! Think, think! As her eyes dart back and forth between Loki and his panicking brother, trying to think of a way to protect him from monster trying to destroy his mind, there is a faint tingling sensation from her thumb, and she looks down to see her pack mark glowing brightly.

No. It couldn’t be that simple, could it? Crowley had said the runes stood for healing, for protection…could it help Loki? More importantly, could it help in time, before he lost his sanity and his body? Making up her mind she steps forward, kneeling in front of Loki and speaking softly. “ I think I may have a solution. It’s just a guess, but if it works you should have some protection from…whatever it is hurting you. Are you willing to try?”

“If it helps keep this thing out of my head long enough to get to someone who can remove it completely, I agree to it.” Loki whispers, a drop of liquid dripping down his face that looks suspiciously like a tear, but she attributes it to the sweat.

“There is a catch. I don’t know how much or little it will help, and it means you’ll be…part of my pack, for a time. Kind of sort of under my direction. Can you handle that? I think I can remove it later, but until then…are you still sure?”

“I can think of far worse people or things to be under the rule of.” Loki whispers faintly with just a hint of his old smile. “Odin and this creature included. So do your worst.”

Ashley nods, getting down on her knees in front of him as he shakes in front of her, sweat dripping down his face as he starts to look weary from the fight. She takes one of his hands gently, not missing the way he flinches slightly as their skin makes contact, and she gives it a reassuring squeeze before turning it over, palm up. “Just a little longer now. I’ve been told this doesn’t hurt, but this is a completely different situation then theirs was so I’m not sure what to expect.” She takes a deep breath, readying herself, before pressing her thumb into his palm, ignoring the curious looks directed her way by everyone outside the cage, one overlaid by desperation as well. Like the first time with Scott she focuses on acceptance into her pack, feeling the warmth spread down from her center and towards the mark, only there is a slight blocking sensation this time, likely from whatever is possessing him. Frowning deeply she focuses harder, pressing her whole self into it, letting her need and want to protect the man in front of him flow thru as well, not willing to let him go, let him deal with this creature on his own. Balthazar’s eyes narrow as a second mark appears on her neck for a brief moment, dark blue and swirling, before completely disappearing and light seems to come from Loki’s palm instead.

Suddenly Loki’s free hand shoots out and grabs her around the neck, squeezing but not hard enough to choke or break. As she opens her eyes with a gasp, she sees one of his eyes are blue while the other is green, a conflicted look on his face as a rasping voice comes from him. “You cannot stop me, mortal, he will stay mine. Give up now, or die by his hand.”

Balthazar growls, holding up his hand to snap his fingers while the others watch on in terror, not able to bypass his barrier, but stops as Ashley’s strained voice rings out. Only Natasha notices that she never takes her thumb away from his palm, as well as the fact that the light continues to grow brighter.

“Don’t, Balthazar!” She manages to get out, just loud enough for the angel to hear. “It’s acting out because it knows this will work, and it will lose a valuable puppet.”

“Is that what you think?” It asks, squeezing a tiny bit harder, though it looks strained. “Maybe I just finally got you where I wanted.”

“I know because you would squeeze hard enough to kill if you could, but Loki is still fighting so you can’t.” She whispers, looking into his panicked still green eye. “You know what else I know?”

“What’s that?”

“You’re too late.” As she says this her eyes switch to her alpha red glinted with blue and gold, glowing as the light flares from his palm flares and erupts, shattering the cage and knocking everyone off their feet, a furious scream coming from Loki as a sickly blue spectral leaves his body in the shape of a hooded figure with evil, glimmering eyes, glaring at her wrathfully before shooting up and out of the Helicarrier. She gives a smirk before a wave of exhaustion hits her and she topples over sideways, only she has Balthazar to catch her before her head smacks the glass covered floor, not passed out but drained of energy. Once he’s recovered from the shock Thor rushes forward towards his brother, the others still trying to get back on their feet from the blast.

“Like I said, the Winchesters are rubbing off on you in a bad way.” Balthazar chides, healing the superficial wounds, the exhaustion staying put. “What would my brothers say if you had gotten yourself hurt saving a pagan?”

“Don’t care, I’d do it anyway, if it was one of them instead of you here, and they both know it.” She says with a lopsided smile, head on his shoulder as he supports her weight, not that it’s a hardship. “If I didn’t, neither of them would be where they are now.”

“You make a solid point, much as I hate to admit it.” They’re both distracted by the sight of Thor kneeling next to Loki, the latter staring down at the mark on his hand, still glowing from the blast, runes glimmering in the petals. Both his eyes are green once more, his skin already looking better without the strain of fighting the creature affecting it.

“Brother…are you well? Is the dark creature gone? Please, speak to me!” He pleads, gripping his Loki by the shoulders.

Loki stares at his hand for a couple more seconds before lifting his eyes to Thor, strangely wet as his face takes on a look of awed wonder. “He’s gone.” Loki finally whispers. “So long having him in my head, taking over if he didn’t approve of my actions, of how I handled a situation, and he’s finally gone. Brother, I’m free!” At the word brother, Thors face takes on a look of pure joy, and he hugs his brother tightly, Loki hugging him back tentively, not yet sure how this came about.

“Awww, they’re so cute. Look at them Balthy, aren’t they cute? I want a picture so I can have this memory forever.” Ashley says from behind them, still being supported by Balthazar. Loki pulls back, slight scowl on his face, but Thor keeps his look of joy.

“Please, don’t call me Balthy, Gabriel already does that and it drives me round the loop. Also, picture is in your pocket.” Ashleys grins tiredly at him, and he can’t help but smirk back.

“Lady Ashley, I…no, all of Asgard, owes you a great debt for freeing my brother from what ever had hold of him!” Thor shouts, causing Loki to flinch as he shouts right next to his ear. “This is a great day! How might I repay you for your efforts?”

“Stop yelling in Loki’s ear for one.” She says, causing Thor to flush and help his brother to his feet.

“Not to break up this happy reunion, but would some one tell me what the holy fuck just happened?” Fury yells, understandably confused and not liking it one little bit. “Because whatever it was just shattered my hulk proof cage like it was nothing, freeing someone we went to a lot of trouble to capture in the first place!”

“My brother has been freed!”

“I did a thing. Did you see me do the thing? Respect my thing doing.”

“Yes yes darling, you did a wonderful thing, we’re all very proud of you. Why the bloody hell won’t you heal the rest of the way? You shouldn’t still be this loopy.”

“S’okay Balthy, stupid grace thing I think. Go find Gabe and Luci, let em know I’m ok. Thank you for helping.”

“If you’re sure.” Balthazar says, ignoring the nickname, and passes her off to Tony. “Take care of her while I find my brothers please, and don’t take the staff out of the box unless you need to. Too many good deeds for my reputation to handle today, I must be slipping.” The last part is muttered under his breath right before raises his hand to snap.

“I don’t think so, you’re not going anywhere until I get some answers.” Fury starts, but Balthazar ignores him and disappears anyway. “What the hell? Am I just speaking for my own damn benefit?”

“While I’m sure we’d all like to find out what happened, we have much more pressing matters.” Loki says, interrupting before anyone else can get a word in. “My bro…Thor is correct, I have been freed. However, the others are still under his control, and at this moment there’s a plane heading in our direction with Agent Barton heading the group, planning on taking this flying contraption down. I suggest we take care of that first, before they succeed.”

“It’s highly unlikely anyone can take the Helicarrier down from the outside, so you might wanna try again.”

“Agent Barton also knows the ins and outs of the machine. Do you really doubt he could find a way to temporarily disable it? There’s a reason I wasn’t worried about being taken hostage.”

Fury glares at Loki, eye twitching as he considers the truth of his words. “While I really hate even considering what you’re saying, I can’t afford to risk you being right. That doesn’t mean I’m letting you run lose, however. I’m just gonna lock you in another room and hope you don’t cause any more trouble, you and the interfering young lady here. Then, once we land, we’ll all be having a nice long discussion about what the fuck just happened here. Comprende?”

“Fine.” Loki says, glaring back at him. 

So of course, that’s when everything goes to hell. 

The next moment the Helicarrier is rocked by a massive explosion pretty much confirming what Loki told them. Bruce and Natasha head back towards the lab as soon as they get their bearing, in case they try and get the scepter back, while Tony and Steve head towards the damaged wing to see if they can start it back up again. That leaves Thor, Loki and Ashley with Fury, who after a few seconds of counting to ten several times, calls Agent Coulson back, gives him a rather large gun, and tells him to lead the three of them to one of the spare rooms and lock them in, guard the door, and not let them out until he comes back. However, Thor ends up running off when they get a report that the Hulk is destroying everything in its path, leaving Loki holding up a still recovering Ashley, Coulson in the lead as they try to avoid conflict the best that they can. They manage eventually, Loki laying her down on the small cot while Coulson shuts them in. Loki lowers himself into a chair, looking down at the ground as he steeples his fingers in front of him, and Ashley forces herself up into a sitting position.

“So, just how much of this do you know?” She asks, still kinda groggy. “Should be worried someone will come through that door blasting away?”

He glances over at her, fingers still clasped together. “Likely not. Most of this was Bartons plan, as the one who knew Shield best, and the objective was to cause a distraction to get the scepter and I both off this contraption, sowing chaos and discord amongst all of you in the process. If it does come to that, however, I shall not let them harm you. I still have my magic, and even if I’m not a strong a fighter as Thor, I can still fight. I just fight differently, that is all.”

“Better suited to you.” She says with a kind smile. “Nothing wrong with that. Just because I can’t use a great sword to fight, doesn’t mean I cant. Us smaller people gotta use what we can. Well, smaller than Thor, anyway.”

He nods, face still contemplative but his body relaxing a bit, considering the circumstances. “True. My mot…Frigga would often say the same thing when I was smaller, and upset that I could not fight the same as Thor. She taught me to use my quickness, my leaner build, and my magic to my advantage, so that I might carve out my own way of fighting. To be honest, I fight much like she does.”

“It must be such a relief to have that thing out of your head.” She says quietly, looking at him as her eyes finally start focusing again. “You look healthier already, and I can tell you aren’t fighting to say things anymore.”

The Helicarrier shakes violently, and he grasps the side arms of his chair tightly before answering, moving his chair closer to her just in case. “I will never again underestimate being able to make my own decisions. It was like a virus, slowly taking over my mind bit by bit, until there was only brief moments I had to myself. I found it easier and less painful in the end if I just…”

“Went along with what he wanted?”

“Exactly. Honestly, I was surprised I stayed myself as long as I did around you. Perhaps he was just as curious as to who you were, a girl appearing out of a sphere of light, unconscious and unaware of where you actually were. Anyone with a bit of sense would be curious, and even I know that on Midgard, that isn’t a normal occurrence. Since we’re stuck here, in a matter of speaking, would you mind satisfying my inquires?”

“Sure, why not, it’ll keep me awake.” She says with a minute shrug. Before she can, however, there is a sound of a scuffle outside and raised voices, with something hitting the door bodily, with sound of a large gun going off, then silence. They both stare at the door quietly, Ashley’s eyes widening as there is a bit of blood spreading under it. Looking at Loki in worry, he raises a finger to his lips, stands up slowly and heads towards the door, hand glowing green with power as the other reaches for the handle, hearing the clicks of it unlocking beneath it. Once it’s completely unlocked, Loki opens the door slowly with his unglowing hand, peeking out, then down to see the source of the blood. She watches as he steps halfway out, leaning over, then drags a body in carefully, closing the door back behind him and setting it in the only other chair in the room. “Agent Coulson!” She cries out, climbing off the bed unsteadily and rushing over, taking the massive gun Loki hands her and placing it on the side table, as well as a bloody knife likely pulled from the Agents body. “Is he ok? Did they hit anything important?”

“Not that I can tell.” Loki says quietly, both hands glowing green now as he runs it up and down the unconscious agents body. “I don’t know too much when it comes to the healing arts, but I learned enough while traveling with Thor and his friends to keep them alive, and can in turn keep his wound from doing the same. He is lucky it did not hit his heart, merely strike near it, else this might have been a different story.” When he stops and finally sits up, hands no longer glowing, Ashley can see the bleeding has stopped, though there is still the remnants of a blade wound. Loki picks up the agent and moves him to the bed, sitting next to it as he closes his eyes in tired satisfaction. “It has been a long time since I have been allowed to use my magic of my own accord, for my own uses, even if it was merely to save one of the agents here, who would just as likely shoot me with the same weapon he was using to guard me. Or, I suppose, us.”

Ashley takes the loose blanket off of the bed and drapes it over him before sitting down as well. “It was a good thing you did though, pulling him in and saving him. You could have left him there.”

“Even monsters have a conscience I suppose. Not that it does me any good.”

“Please,” She says with a snort. “I’ve seen monsters, and you’re no monster.”

“Am I not?” He says darkly, staring up at the ceiling. “I am a frost giant, something I was told horror stories about ever since I was a child, only finding out I was one during a battle a short time ago. I have given birth to an eight legged horse, and fathered a serpent, a wolf, twin boys, and a daughter whose entire half of her body looks as if a corpse. Out of all of them, Hela is in charge of Hel, Slepnir is kept in the Asgard stables, Jormungand was thrown into a Midgardian ocean years ago when he wouldn’t stop growing, Vali was turned in a wolf by one of the council who was angry with me and made to kill his twin Narfi, and you know of Fenris. Only a monster could father such monstrous children.” When he is finished there is a boiling anger to his voice, and the last of her exhaustion vanishes as she feels the need comfort him.

“Looks have nothing to do with being a monster. I met a guy who was handsome, perfect skin, nice teeth, eyes that would mesmerize you. One of many in my travels with the Winchesters, actually. He would lure children to him with an ice cream truck, let them inside, them knock them out and drag them to his basement, where he would then drain them of their blood, skin them, and remove every single organ before burning their remains in an incinerator. He sold every bit of it to supernatural creatures that needed it for various uses, mostly for food, some for spells. He had managed to do this to thirty kids before we finally stopped him, along with five adults that came looking for their kids. That right there, that’s a monster. You having a couple of kids that look different just means that they’ll stand out.”

Loki stares aghast at her, mouth open wide. “Thirty children? And he was selling their parts? What exactly was he, to be that heartless?”

“ A warlock missing his soul. Dean ended up beheading him, then burning his body in his own incinerator to make sure there was no chance of him possibly coming back. So believe me, compared to some of what I’ve see, you and your children aren’t monsters, just…misunderstood.” 

“That is kind of you to say. Unfortunately, the sentiment is shared by few. But enough of that, I have more questions about yourself.” Ashley once more recognizes the attempt to change the subject and rolls with it, wanting to keep Loki as comfortable in the conversation as possible, as she’s pretty sure that if they stop talking, she’ll think about the fact they’re aboard a flying oil rig, filled with people fighting each other and possibly plummeting towards the ground. They keep talking until Fury storms into the room, the fighting finally over. Seeing Agent Coulson laying unconscious on the bed, he eyes both of them suspiciously before calling a medic team to carry him away, pausing in the doorway before closing and locking it again.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on him, though he wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for you. I expect both of you to stay put a little longer while we fix the rest of your mess, you got me?” Not waiting for an answer, he turns dramatically to leave, trench coat flowing behind him. Loki simply turns to Ashley with a smirk once he’s gone, a bit of his natural mischief coming back.

“It’s adorable how he thinks we’re going to stay here, don’t you think? I personally have a score to settle with the Chitari, and have no intentions of twiddling my thumbs in this small metal room. The question is, do you plan on joining me, or listening to the Odin look alike in his orders?”

Ashleys return smirk is all the answer he needs. “Come then, let us find the man of iron and his little entourage. Perhaps we can convince them to join us , considering Selvig is still planning on opening the portal.”


	4. Who won, me or the Nuke?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping Furys clutches, lots of Chitari, and a nuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, reviews are a writers best friend, so if you like it, hate it, somewhere in between or just wanna say hi, please leave a note!

“Where is that idiot brother of mine?” Loki mutters to himself as they sneak around the Helicarrier, a spell cast around them to make people pay no attention to them as long as they don’t look at them in the eyes. They had both waited another 15 minutes before actually leaving the room, wanting to make sure Fury was far away when they made their move. A brief touch to the back of their guards neck and they were out the door, making their way to the lab as it was likely to be the best place to find the wayward scientists, but only after dragging the guard inside the room, ‘borrowing’ his hat and coat for Loki to put on. “I’m surprised he didn’t bust down the door once the accursed flying machine was back to running order. He never was one for patience.”

“Yea, kinda noticed, he’s like an overhyped puppy. Probably lucky he doesn’t pee himself when he gets too excited.” Loki snorts at that but doesn’t reply, both trying to stay as silent as possible. While they hadn’t been caught yet, it was likely only because everyone was still running around with very specific goals in mind, trying to fix the damage caused by the outside attack, not paying attention to much else. Still, not wanting to risk running into anyone in the elevator they take the stairs, exiting into a tiny hallway right outside the lab. Ashley looks around the corner before peeking in, sighing in relief to see Steve and Tony sitting at a table, both looking beat up but none worse for the wear. After waiting for a group of agents to pass by, they both rush out of their dark corner and through the door, Ashley closing it behind her then turning to face a curious looking Tony.

“Hey angel food, you’re looking better. And…with Rock of Ages no less! Also looking better and much less sweaty sickly. Good look by the way. I figured Pirate Fury would have you two under lock and key?”

“He did.” Ashley admits with shrug, going over to make sure the staff was still in the box.

“And?”

“It wasn’t where we wanted to be.” Loki says, taking off the hat and coat, then throwing them to the side with a grimace. “So we very politely made our leave of his hospitality.”

“I like to hope you didn’t hurt anyone making your escape.” Steve says, standing up with both arms crossed over his chest and a steely glint in his eyes.

“You may calm yourself Captain, I merely put our guard to sleep, then lay him on the bed in the room we were being kept in. Oh, and borrowed those horrific garments of his to help disguise myself.”

“You’ll excuse me if it’s hard to believe that you’re on our side just like that.”

“Your side?” Loki scoffs, looking at Steve in amusement. “Hardly. If I’m on anyone’s side, it’s mine. Maybe hers, considering the hell she released me from. I’m in this for revenge against the Chitari, and the creature, the other, commanding them. That, I assure you, you can believe.”

“If he can’t, I can definitely buy it.” Tony says from a corner of the lab, cleaning his helmet of burn marks and soot. “I saw the thing that popped out of you, and as someone who was also possessed, I know that crap is real. Also, revenge is a great motivator. So, what’s the plan exactly?”

“First off, where is Thor? I expected to see him as soon as the battle ended.”

Tony lets out a loud snicker, causing all three to look at him. “Your bro…that’s quite the tale from what I’ve heard. He seriously underestimated just how strong the Hulk is, and they both jumped at each other, Thor swinging with his hammer and Hulk swinging his fists. They bounced off each other in an explosive blast, both flying off in opposite directions.”

Loki sighs heavily, plopping down on a stool while Ashley chuckles from the back of the room, hands resting on the rune covered box holding the staff. “He always did like to rush into fights without a second thought. He probably knocked himself out from the blast, the big blonde oaf. It will be a couple of hours before he can make it back this way.”

“I figured that. Luckily for us, the green guy was apparantly blasted towards the city. It won’t take as long for Viking Ken to fly our way.”

“For the love of…can you not call people by their names, Tony? Do you just not remember, or not care?” Steve asks, clearly exasperated.

“Hey, I remember! Nicknames are my way of showing affection! Might as well get used to it, Capsicle.”

“If you two are quite finished, what are the chances of us getting off this flying death trap and heading in the direction of the portal they’re still trying to open? Because I can tell you that if the entirety of the Chitari army gets through, your puny army and human weapons won’t last the night. They’ll cover Midgard and destroy any living thing they can find.”

“For the record, I’m very against that.” Ashley says with a frown. “I’ve already tried to stop it from happening once, I’m hoping for a 2 outta 2 record.”

“Do you know where they’re going to be?” Steve asks, frowning at Loki.

“Yes. The top of Starks tower. A high enough place to summon the portal without trouble, and it seemed poetic to do so on the top of a tower built to help humanity. The other thought it fitting.”

“Hmm. So that’s where the whole ‘warm light for all mankind’ thing was aimed at.” Tony says thoughtfully. “And here I thought you were just speaking to hear your own voice.”

“Romanoff managed to knock out Clint. Said she was working on bringing him back.” Steve says, ignoring Tony. “If one of them was willing to fly the jet, we could possibly get there before Fury even knew we were gone. You more so, considering he wants both of you to stay put. I on the other hand say if you want to help fight, we could use all the help we can get. Prove you weren’t the one in charge this whole time.”

Tony gets a gleeful look on his face, hopping off his stool to get a good look at Steve. “What’s this I hear? The good captain breaking rules, keeping secrets from our fine pirate overlord? I’m intrigued to say the least.”

Steve gives a wan smile in return. “Considering the secrets he was keeping in return, I don’t really feel that bad about it. I took your advice and went looking on my own…found stashes of HYDRA weapons in storage, ones I thought had been destroyed. That, and the fact he’s trying to keep a civilian locked up doesn’t sit too well with me.”

“Hate to break it to ya Cap, but they’re trying to develop bigger, badder ones as well. Jarvis found quite a few more secrets stashed away. Glad to see your faith in government has waned a little bit.”

“Assuming Natasha can fix this Clint, will he not be peeved that Loki brainwashed him in the first place?” Ashley asks hesitantly. “Not everyone is as forgiving as you guys are at least acting.”

“I’ll go to their room and explain the situation.” Steve offers, standing up and heading towards the door. “You stay in here, we’ll head back when they’re ready. Miss Roeswood, think you can keep them out of trouble?”

“You’re kidding, right? One has a flying metal suit and the other has cosmic powers. The best I can hope for is distraction at best.”

“It’s all I can ask for.” He says with a sigh. Before he exits, however, he turns hesitantly towards Loki. “By the way, I heard what you did for Agent Coulson. You didn’t have to, but you did. Thanks.” He then walks out without waiting for an answer, leaving behind a surprised looking Loki who hides it quickly, but not quickly enough for Ashley to miss.

Or, apparantly, Tony.

“Good grief reindeer games, you look like you’ve never been thanked for something before.” At the glare Loki throws his way, his grin gets wider. “You don’t, do you? Remind me to come up with some sort of reward system for you, every time you do a good deed you’ll get a hug and a treat.”

“Tony, stop.” Ashley says, coming around and handing both of them a granola bar from the stash she found under the desk the staff was sitting on. “Right now the last thing we need is to piss each other off. Tell me, have you came up with any cool ghost gear yet? Ones that don’t explode?”

Tony eyes her silently, munching on his granola bar. “You know, I know you’re trying to distract me until Steve and the spies come back, but honestly I just like talking about my inventions enough that I don’t really care. Heh, Steve and the Spies, sounds like a band.”

“Focus, Tony.” Loki rolls his eyes, but stifles a grin as he eyes the granola bar in his hand.

“What? Oh yea, sorry. Well, first off I may have came up with a pair of iron knuckles that when you press a button on the side, releases a blast of salt. I’m trying to figure out a way to make the salt somehow land in a circle when released, trapping casper…”

**********( )*************

Ashley decided that men were just as confusing as they claimed women were all of the time from her seat in the jet. The first thing that Clint (he of the very nice looking arms and a resting bitch face that could easily rival Sams) did once he entered the room with Steve and Natasha was stand in front of Loki for a couple of seconds, both staring at one another silently, before rearing back and punching him in the face. Steve immediately pull Clint back, while Loki comes back to his feet with a half smile, wiping the small trickle of blood from his face.

“Holy shit, what’s your face made of, granite?” Clint groans holding his fist tenderly.

“No, but I am a god in case you forgot, my bones are made much stronger than yours. Is your masculine need to prove yourself achieved now?”

“Are you asking if we’re square now? Hard to really say since my attempt nearly broke my hand. But if you really did save Coulson, I suppose I can tolerate you for now. Not to say I won’t still hate your face and feel like punching it every once in a while, but since I have to injure myself in the process I’ll have to figure out something else. So what’s the plan?”

“First things first, we need to get to the Quinjet.” Natasha says, breaking into the macho fest with an impassive look on her face. “The longer we stay here, the more of a chance that someone tries to stop us from leaving, and while Loki may not be our best friend he’s a capable fighter and one of our best chances of shutting down this portal.”

“What about the kid?” Clint asks, looking Ashley’s way. “She doesn’t look like much of a fighter, we plan on bringing her along for the ride?”

“Excuse me, kid?” Ashley fumes, arms crossed as she faces the spy. “I’m probably not that much younger than you are pal, so try again. And you better believe I’m going, Fury finds me alone and I get to answer for everyone else flying the coop.”

“She can stay in the Quinjet and out of harms way.” Steve interrupts before Clint can respond. “I don’t like that Fury wants to keep her locked up, and chances are her friend might show back up anyway to lend a hand. So she goes.”

“Fine, whatever. Anything else?”

“The staff needs to go as well.” Loki says quietly, causing everyone to look at him incredulously. 

“Uh, that really doesn’t make us want to trust you a whole lot more than we already don’t.” Tony says before anyone else responds. “Don’t suppose there’s a good reason to bring the glow stick of destiny, the one the angel stuck in a super secret box and said not to open because it makes us go loco, that staff?”

“There’s a chance that the staff may be able to break through the protective barrier surrounding the tesseract. When Selvig started building the portal generator, I managed to slip the need for a failsafe past his defenses, a way to shut the entire thing down if there was a chance to do so.”

“Ok, I gotta admit that’s a pretty good reason.”

“Still doesn’t mean we trust him with it.” Steve replies.

“Then let me hold it, until someone gets a chance to get to the portal generator. “Ashley says, standing next to Loki. “Since you all want me to hide anyway, I can keep hold of the box we have the staff in, and hand it off to whoever climbs Tonys building. Probably better for me to hold it anyway considering, since they’re angel wards.”

“Angel wards?” Clint asks, confusion written on his face. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Cap, what happened to I’ll explain the situation?”

“I might have skipped that part. Come on, we can explain it on the way. Miss Roeswood, you carry the box for now, and Loki you stay behind me and out of sight. Anyone asks, we’re escorting him to his new quarters. Let’s move.”

Tony sidles in beside Ashley as they walk, helmet under his arm and box in hers. “Bossy isn’t he? It’s gotta be his age, soon he’ll be complaining about rock music and asking for prune juice.”

“Bossy, but they listen to him so that’s a plus.”

“Eh, just respecting their elders.”

“And your excuse?”

“Have you met me? I question everything. I’m still trying to process angels and demons after meeting both, which is quite a feat for an atheist.”

“Don’t forget the two gods you’ve met now, they have to count for something.”

“Yea, nothing but trouble. The brothers yin and yang are starting to give me a massive ulcer, and all I want to do is relax with a bottle of scotch and a possible Star Wars marathon, chowing down on a buffet of junk food. Still might, if I survive all this. Totally invited by the way, we can do a Mystery Science commentary on it, best drunk activity ever.”

“I’m up for it. Ooh, you think Steve has ever seen it? I bet we could blow his mind.”

“If I have my way both he and Brucie will join us, maybe even the super spies and brothers Grimm. We could make a weekend out of it.”

“We have to make it through today first. Save world first, drunken movies after.”

“Yea yea, way to be a buzzkill. Come on, Cap is beating us to the Quinjet. He’s fast for an old guy.”

*********** ( )**************

Huddling inside the Quinjet currently parked in the middle of an abandoned street, Ashley wonders if she should have just taken her chances with Fury after all. The skies were filled with Chitari racing around on some sort of air bike, while the others were all fighting the Chitari on the streets. Natasha had taken the staff from her not too long ago and used Steve and his shield to jump up in the air, leaping onto the back of one of the fliers and taking it over, hopefully to the top of the tower. The good news was that not only had Tony given her a device so they could talk back and forth to one another, but that both Thor and the Hulk had arrived to help.

The bad news was that the Chitari were moving closer to the Quinjet, and if she didn’t move soon she was going to find herself in a bad situation fast. Taking a deep breath, she makes sure none of them are looking her way before racing out of the jet, turning her ring into a sword just in case. Ducking quickly behind a car, she stays low as she starts running along the sidewalk, speaking to anyone who will listen. “Guys, staying in the Quinjet was good in theory, but considering the Chitari were five minutes from exploring it I ended up having to get outta dodge. Where are you?”

“Most of us are pretty spread out Angel food, I’m flying around blasting everything, Hulks jumping from building to building having a smashing good time, Romanoffs making her way to the portal generator, Legolas is on some building doing pot shots while the bros and Cap are on the streets beating on the stragglers. Think you could make your way to them?”

“Not a good idea Stark, we’re being over run here.”

“Better with you guys than by herself Cappy, least then she has a better chance. Besides, she used to hunt things you only see in monster movies, surely she can fight some aliens off.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. Steve, I can fight, I just would rather be fighting with some friends close by than by myself, like Tony said.”

“Hey, strength in numbers kid. Keep going straight a block then make a right, you’ll run right into them. I’ll watch your back.”

“Still not a kid, Clint, but thanks, heading there now. Tony, please no more space whale suicide bombing, I’m having visions of you flying out of a blowhole.”

“Pssh, you’re just jealous you couldn’t pull a Jonah like I did.”

“According to Gabe, Jonah was a pothead who thought he had turned into a worm, then jumped into the ocean so he could feed the fish. That’s who you want to emulate?”

“I’m sure this Gabe friend of yours was joking, Miss Roeswood. What would your angel friend say about that?”

“Steve, Balthazar was there when Gabe told me that story. You should hear what really went on in the lions den.”

“Yet another reason why we need drunken movie night. I want to hear them all.”

“I feel like I’m going to hell just listening to this.”

Ashley chuckles at Steves comment, peeking around the corner as she stays out of sight the best she can. There’s a single Chitari standing there, pointing his blaster at the others fighting as it waits for one of them to stop moving. Brain kicking into overdrive both from being startled and from seeing the alien pointing a gun at her friends, she raises her sword and plunges through its chest, eyes widening at it crumples to the ground. So surprised at what she just did, she doesn’t notice a section of wall crumbling down towards her, only looking up just in time to see it right above her.

Luckily for her someone else does, and she finds herself swept out of the way by a pair of surprisingly gentle and large hands. After what feels like a large, powerful jump through the air, she’s set back down on the ground next to Loki, and she looks into the very green face of the Hulk. “Uum, hello there. Thank you for the rescue. It’s the hulk, right?”

“Nice Girl Pay Attention!” Hulk says with a loud huff, getting down on his knuckles and looking down at her. “Stay Safe!”

“I will….thank you.” She says faintly. Hulk snorts then turns away, jumping back into the air and straight into the path pf an oncoming air bike, smashing it into the nearby building. Turning around she sees Loki smirking at her, throwing a dagger into a nearby Chitari a second later. Sighing, she changes the sword to a bow staff so she can smack anything that gets too close, knowing the three men will expect her to stay somewhat in the middle. “Sorry, lost focus for a minute…I never get used to killing anything, no matter what they are.”

“It happens to us all.” Loki says, slamming a dagger into the brain of a Chitari that jumps up beside him. “Killing isn’t something one should ever be used to. It just you more willing to jump into action when needed. Mother was quite adamant in teaching me that.”

Ashley smacks a Chitari that gets too near to her, knocking it straight into Thor swinging his hammer. “Usually killing is a last choice…I’m always the one arguing to talk first, stab later.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, none of the Chitari are talking, just growling and blasting.”

“Which is why I don’t mind stabbing them. Heck, if Gabe and Luce would actually answer, they’d all be on fire or exploding. But, of course, my big bad guardian angels can’t hear me for some reason, so here we are.”

Luckily, the god knew what she was talking about and they spent the next few minutes defending from the hordes of Chitari, Loki throwing up a shield once or twice to block incoming blasts. He was the first one that she had explained most of her history to other than Tony, only she had explained her grace issues to him as well. As someone who had spent many years trying master and control powers of his own, he had listened closely, feeling a pang of sympathy for the girl in front of him who had powers thrust upon her, powers she had no training in that so far were doing a much better of controlling her. The Gwaine she spoke of, her bosom friend she raised from a pup, sounded like what had been helping to keep those powers in check, grounded, and now that he was gone they were running amok, being heavily influenced by her emotions. Perhaps he could help her find a way to control them…

He suddenly hears a gasp from the girl in question and looks over sharply, expecting to see her bleeding from an attack that made its way through, but instead sees her staring off towards a nearby street, face white with a look of terror on it. Following her gaze, he sees what looks to be a womans body, shaking still from an attack. As he continues to watch, however, the shaking stops and a small head pops out from beneath the body, revealing a scared child no more than three or four years old. As he understands her terror he feels a body fly past him, Ashley taking off at full sprint towards the child with a determined glint in her eyes. “Dammit! Thor, I must leave you both, try not to die.” Loki says, taking off after Ashley. There is no response from his brother as he speeds after her, noticing her staff has somehow switched to a gleaming shield in the shape of a pair of wings large enough to guard both her and the child from the blasts. Grabbing the child with her free hand she cradles him close, wincing at the blasts bouncing off the shield as she huddles there with him for a moment, peeking for a moment when the blasts stop.

Loki has one of the blasters in his hands, standing in front of them with the remains of a fallen air bike in front of him still smoking. “Did you get him?” Loki asks, and she nods, pulling aside the shield to show him the sobbing child. “Good. We need to get back to the others now that you’ve endangered yourself sufficiently.” Ashley nods, fully meaning to follow him, but stiffens when she hears whimpers coming from somewhere other than the child in her arms. Tapping Loki on the shoulder she silently points out the direction of the noise, both walking around the corner to peer behind the cars. Huddled behind a group of cars is about 10 more kids, a teenager and an adult with them. The adult runs up with relief, grabbing the terrified child and hugging him tightly.

“Thank god, we thought they had been killed by those things! Where’s Miss Shayla?”

“She was killed by those things.” Loki says bluntly. “What are all of you doing here, why are you not indoors hiding somewhere?”

“She was…oh god…we were on a field trip when the attack started, we’ve been trying to find somewhere safe ever since!”

“Are we gonna die?” A blonde haired girl asks, tears making a track over her soot covered face.

“I want my mommy!” Another cries, setting them all off. Ashley glances over at Loki before going to kneel in front of the girl, using her shirt sleeve to wipe her face. 

“We’re not gonna let that happen.” Ashley tells the girl softly, reflexes kicking in as she raises her shield to block a blast, Loki blasting it out of the air as it dodges the knock back. “Loki..”

“Yes yes I know, we need to keep them safe.” Loki says, scowling out towards the circling Chitari sensing easy prey. “Because Odin knows it would have been too easy for them to just find any old building and hide inside, no they had to huddle like sheep out in the open. They’re probably lucky they haven’t been slaughtered already.”

“Loki, do you know how hard it is to round up one kid, much less 10? They were probably moving as fast as they could without drawing attention.” Ashley says with a half assed glare his way, blocking another blast while Loki flings a dagger at the shooters head. An arrow knocks another one out of the sky with a loud explosion, and she sighs in relief that Clint could see them somehow.

“Guys, another wave just popped out and they’re heading straight for you, get those kids out of the open now. Tony, think you can send some air support their way?”

“Be there as soon as I can Feathers, got a couple of smarter fliers on my tail.”

“We’ll head there on foot when we can, still surrounded at the moment, and Thor just went up to bottleneck the portal exit again.”

“I saw a subway entrance a street over, think we could get them all there?”

“Let’s hope so, out here they’re nothing but small moving targets.” Loki turns to the two women left in charge of the children. “Carry the slower children or the ones that cannot run and come with us if you want to survive the day, we shall lead you to the subway.” The women do as he asks, holding the four toddlers in their arms as they all make their way as fast as they can to the subway, Ashley and Loki trying their best to block the blasts as they run, Loki occasionally shooting back or throwing a dagger while Ashley bashes a couple of Chitari in the head that get to close, allowing Loki to finish them off, while Clint knocks a couple out of the air as well. They make it within sight of the subway with no collateral damage, which should have had them nervous in the first place, when it all goes to hell.

Out of nowhere the blonde haired girl Ashley wiped the soot off of trips, Ashley only knowing because the gasp of pain the little girl lets out. As soon as she turns around and shoots towards the girl, an air bike crashes in front of them in a flaming explosion, blocking their path and drawing attention to the little group trying to get to safety. Ashley pauses for a moment at the explosion, then starts running back towards the little girl, ignoring Loki’s yells as she sees a Chitari taking aim for the girl. Eyes wide she makes a leap towards her, hearing the blast hit something just as she lands and rolls over the girl, picking her up and running towards the others, shielding her with her body. As she makes it back to the group Loki jumps in front of her and starts shooting wildly, trying to protect the small group. “Do you have a death wish? They’re starting to swarm us! We need to get them into the subway now!”

“I know, but I couldn’t just leave her there! Besides, if we hadn’t of stopped that stupid thing would have exploded on top of us! We just need to get around it!”

“Guys, you got company coming from two sides, you need to find shelter fast.”

“Yes we know Barton, we’re trying!” The god snarls into the ear piece. “We ran into a little..problem…” He stops, staring at Ashley despite the danger around them. Or, more specifically, the bundle in her arms. “Ashley…did you get hit by the blast?”

“No, I think it hit the ground right before I managed to grab the girl. Why?”

“Look down.”

Confused, Ashley looks down at the bundle in her arms, paling as she notices not only the red spreading all over her front, but that the shivering child in her arms has gone quiet. Going down on her knees she lays the girl across her lap, finally noticing the hole in the girls side from the blast hitting her. “No no no no! I got to you in time, I swear I did! Please be ok!”

Loki, still glancing around warily, throws up a weak shield and kneels beside her, face somber as he takes in the injury. “You tried your best, that’s all you could ever hope to do. They had very specifically aimed there, however. They aim to be cruel in their destruction.”

“But, you can heal her like you did with Coulson, right?”

“Even if I did, we would need to get her to an actual medical facility or it would be for nothing, she’s lost a lot of blood already. The best I could do with an injury of this magnitude is slow it down, and doing it now would take away from the energy powering the shield covering us.”

“It doesn’t hurt.” The girl says softly, color already draining from her face from the blood loss. “Maybe I can be in heaven with mommy now. She went there after my brother was born. I think I would miss him and daddy though.”

Ashleys eyes fill with tears at that, the other children unnaturally silent as the blasts bounce off the shield, Steve off in the distance racing towards them and knocking down any Chitari in his path. She closes her eyes, breathing deeply as the tears run down her face, and something hardens inside her as anger rumbles through her from the dying child in her arms, so young yet accepting of her fate if it means she gets to see her mother in heaven. As everything goes quiet around her she sends a very clear message to the grace inside her, that if it was going to make her have these stupid powers, she should get at least one chance to use them for something she wanted to do, even if only this once. This time, wanted to be in control of something in her life.

Something cracks in her as she thinks this, a crack in the wall of whatever was blocking her from accessing and controlling her abilities, as well as a brief flash of memory that leaves her with only a scene of what seems to be a glowing ball of light with tendrils flowing from it, but it disappears as soon as it shows, leaving her with a jolt of pain. However, the crack in the wall means something else, something she can feel down to her bones as a cold fury flows over her, the anger from the grace as hot as her as both angels that gave it were very protective of children. Today, it will work with her and allow her a measure of control, even if it does tire her out again in the process. Tomorrow is another story, as even in its mischief and overbearing protectiveness the grace did not think she could handle the full weight without an anchor, or at least not yet. It would take time, practice and repeated use to adjust her body to how it needed to be.

For now though, as familiar glowing veins start running up her body, it would work with her.

“Heal the girl.” Ashley growls, startling Loki with the rage in her tone. 

“But the shield will have to be dropped and leave us all unprotected..”

Ashley opens her eyes wide, revealing the blue and gold hiding underneath, and Loki can feel a current of some strange power unknown to him coming from her, the tiny hairs on his arms standing on end. “Heal the girl, Loki. I’ll take care of the shield.” She then hands the bleeding girl to Loki and stands up, hearing a cacophony of noise from her earpiece as she removes it and throws it aside, the noise giving her a headache as she turns and faces the oncoming hordes of Chitari. One hand at her hand gripped into a tight fist, nails drawing blood from her palm in perfect half moons, the other hand raises up in front of her, in a loose fist as she concentrates on the grace running through her. As she focuses she can feel the shield getting weaker from repeated blasts, as well as Loki doing as she asked and healing the girl as much as he can.

The moment she feels the shield drop her hand opens and a blast of grace spreads from it, covering the small group in a crystalline, golden blue dome that repels any blast sent its way, absorbing them and using the energy to fuel the dome, which in turn stretches and grows. Not only that, but as soon as a Chitari tries to run through it, a bolt shoots from the dome and fries the alien, dropping it crispy fried and very much dead. Steve watches in shock as that only seems to anger the Chitari, and they start rushing the dome on mass, almost completely ignoring him in the hopes of breaking it down. 

Loki in the meantime feels the strange power helping him in his efforts to at least stabilize the girl, actually managing to stop the bleeding completely and put the girl into a restful sleep before standing up and walking towards the girl, amazed that she had managed to create a shield like this when before she had complained about not being able to control it at all. Looking at her face though, he can she the strain it is causing her, and her body slightly shaking though she keeps a straight face. Wanting to show his support he takes the hand tightened into a fist at her side and grips her fingers in his, getting a brief shock as her power seems to stabilize a bit from the interaction, stopping her body from shaking. Before he can think on it, there is a conversation over the earpiece that makes all color leave his face.

“Your government has apparantly decided to cut their losses, and has sent a nuclear missile towards the city. They plan on destroying the entire city, aliens, citizens, and everyone in between.”

If anything her eyes just glow more fiercely as she hears that, and he could almost swear there was a hint of translucent wings behind her. “Fuck that, no one else is dying today. Lucifer, Gabriel, get your feathered asses here now, I need your help!”

Both archangels hear the request from their respective corners of the Earth, as the block is finally removed and it echoes loudly through their heads as they hear the very voice of the person they were looking for, along with a strange power flow coming from her location that seems to make their grace vibrate. Both immediately fly to the location of the request, appearing inside some sort of protective bubble. Looking around in confusion, they see a group of scared children, one laying on a leather jacket on the ground and covered with blood, likely from the large wound in her side. Anger starting to emerge from the sight of the bloody child, they turn to see Ashley there as well, a dark haired man gripping one of her hands tightly, her other extended outwards and generating the dome surrounding them. Not only that, but a small trickle of blood is running from her nose it looks like she is fighting to keep it up.

“What the hell is going on here? Who the hell are you?” Lucifer asks angrily, eyes flashing dangerously, while Gabriel bends down and heals the child the rest of the way first, knowing Ashley would want him to. “Ashley, are you ok?”

Loki glares at the arrivals, not wanting to deal with their shit. “I’m the only thing keeping her from passing out right now, this power is too much for her to control on her own right now! Who are you supposed to be, and how did you get inside the shield?”

“She called for us, so we came! We’ve been looking for her anyway, but for some reason we couldn’t sense her, not even with our grace in her.”

“Ahh, so you’re the big bad guardian angels who did this to her.” Loki says coldly, looking back and forth at the two of them with a sneer. “Instead of just standing there, why don’t you get out there and make yourself useful? There are hundreds of Chitari trying to break in, as well as murdering everyone they see in the city, and the stupid Government leaders just fired what Stark calls a nuke at the city. As soon as this whole ordeal is over, she might actually drop the shield and explain things herself, if she doesn’t pass out from lack of energy first.”

“Chitari? What the hell are you…” Lucifer is stopped mid rant as Gabriel grips his head and turns it out towards the street, where the Chitari have completely circled the dome, shrieking and occasionally throwing one another against it, trying to break through still, two men trying to fight them off in the background and make their way towards the dome as well, while several air bikes fly over it as well, shooting rapidly at it. Both archangels watch for a couple of seconds, glancing over for a second at Ashley still maintaining the shield, gripping Loki’s hand like a lifeline as the drips of blood hit the ground. 

“Well?”

Lucifer throws one last glare at the god before he and Gabriel both summon their blades, fire running up and down them as both their eyes start glowing with a bright, holy anger. “What do you say, brother, do you want the air or the sky?”

“I’ve always been a better flier than you…I’ll take the sky, you smite all the groundies. Most kills wins, loser has to pretend to be Chicka and teach her class for a week.”

“Deal.” At that, both of them take off in their respective directions, carving a bloody path through the Chitari as they manage to let out years of smiting repression. They good thing about their blades compared to other weapons, however, was that every Chitari they cut through evaporated into dust, much like the Darach when Ashley beheaded it. At one point Gabriel popped into view right in front of Tony, and with a dark grin and a wave, wretched the nuke away from him and kicks it straight into the portal right before it closes, Natasha having finally stabbed the generator with the staff so the portal would close. Lucifer, on the other hand, made a base run around the dome, taking out the mass of the horde around the shield before joining Thor and Steve, both confused by the new arrival but not willing to say no to help.

By the time all of the Chitari not smited by the two archangels have dropped from the nuke hitting the main hive, Tony and the Hulk have dropped down in front in front of the two, watching in curiosity as they argue over who actually won the bet, and whether not kicking the nuke counts as Gabriel killing all the leftover Chitari or not, while they all wait for the shield to finally drop now that the attack has finally stopped.

Inside the shield, Loki stares around in wonder as one by one the Chitari drop down to the ground, the children having finally stopped crying as they realize they aren’t being attacked anymore. Seeing her friends standing outside the shield arguing instead of making their way back to her he curls his lip, turning and stepping in front of her. “The attack is over, Ashley. All of the children are safe now. You can stop now, lower the shields.” His face is gentle as he says this, words soothing as he attempts to calm her down.

“They’re all safe now?” Ashley manages to get out, body starting to shake again. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure my lady. One of your odious seeming friends even further healed the girl who was injured. You need to let go, before it harms you. Please.”

That one word, one that so rarely left the gods lips as his pride would often keep him from using it, seemed to snap her out of it finally, and a second later the shield drops, startling everyone outside it. As it drops, so does the glow emanating from her eyes and her veins, her ring reappearing around her finger as she stares straightforward at Loki, who surprisingly takes a handkerchief out of nowhere (green of course) and wipes the blood off her face gently. As a tear makes its way down one cheek she manages to get out a strained “Thank you, Loki” before her eyes roll back and she passes out, Loki catching her in his arms as she drops, hoisting her into his arms bridal style as if she weighs nothing at all. He and the archangels seem to have a sort of glaring contest between one another, Lucifer wanting to wretch her away from the god, and Loki silently daring him to try and see what happens.

Tony ends up breaking the awkward silence, stepping forward but not in-between the two powers, taking his face plate off as he tries for a nonchalant tone. “Well, that was fun. Anyone hungry? Because I’m hungry, and while flying around I saw a schwarma place that looked really good. You kids up for schwarma? Schwarma for everyone. Probably a medical team as well…Schwarma and healthcare for everyone!”

Everyone not currently glaring at another person turns to look incredulously at him. Gabriel just sighs heavily, looking between the two powerful beings. “Guess I get to play peace keeper again. Joy.”


	5. Who says angels aren't Violent?

Ashley wakes up with a start, dreams of soaring through the skies dissipating as her brain becomes alert and takes in the fact that she isn’t in her own bed, but one much larger with what feels like an amazingly high thread count, soft over her skin as she raises herself up with a groan. That brought another realization actually, as once she thought about just how soft the sheets were, she realized just how much of her skin could feel said softness, and lifts the sheets slowly to see that she’s naked underneath except for her bra and underwear. Running her hand through her hair in puzzlement, she drops the comforter back over herself, trying to figure out where the hell she is.

“Welcome back.” Says a smooth voice to her left, causing her to jump as she thought she had been the only one in the room. As she whips her head around, she sees Natasha sitting in an armchair next to the bed, legs crossed as she smirks at the startled young woman in amusement. “ I was beginning to wonder when you might wake up. Any longer and one of your little friends might decide to bust in.”

“What friends? Where am I exactly? How long have I been asleep? And why the hell am I practically naked?” Ashley asks, pulling the sheets higher up her body as if to hide herself, causing Natasha to smirk even wider, but she takes the questions in stride.

“You’re currently in one of Tony’s guest rooms, we all moved here after the battle was over and the group you were protecting got medical attention, seeing as the majority voted going back to Fury was a bad idea so soon after you got off the Helicarrier, you and Loki both. You’ve only been asleep 8 hours, but your two friends have been waiting for you to wake up the entire time, when the tall one isn’t glaring at Loki. He doesn’t seem to be good at waiting, and all three seemed affronted when I told them they couldn’t wait in the room with you.”

“Is it a short one with a sweet tooth and a tall one with reddish hair who looks like he’d have no problem with snapping your neck if you get on his bad side?” At Natasha’s silent nod she sighs heavily. “That would be Gabe and Luce, respectively. Luce still isn’t that good with people from being trapped so long, and while Gabe is pretty much the exact opposite, you’re probably lucky nothing bad has happened yet from boredom.”

 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say nothing has happened yet.” Natasha says dryly, glancing at the currently bolted door. “Fury came in demanding to not only see you but to take Loki back into custody. Needless to say, Thor objected loudly to both, and Gabe as you call him snapped his fingers and sent him back to the Helicarrier after Lucifer threatened to take his other eye. Loki somehow turned his eye patch pink right before he did as well, so I expect we’ll be hearing from a pissed off director of SHIELD sooner or later. Before I locked the door Tony was trying to quiz them all on how it worked.”

Ashley lets out a loud groan, burying her face in the blankets at the thought. “I dread the thought of Tony and Gabe working together. All I see is an endless stream of sugary mixed drinks and pranks on pretty much everyone, and that’s if Loki doesn’t live up to his name and join in. We’re probably lucky all they did was turn his eye patch pink. And….why am I naked exactly?”

“Because the clothes you were wearing were ripped, as well as covered with blood and dust.” Natasha says matter of factly. “After Loki finally put you down, I kicked all the men out, took off your clothes and washed the dried blood off of your face. Gabriel said he’s taken care of you before and Loki said if it was a gender thing he would gladly change into a woman, but I told them both it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Thanks, Gabe can be a bit over protective of me, but he means well.” Then, a bit confused. “There was blood on my face?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Not really. Honestly I don’t remember much past finding out that little girl got shot..” She pauses, pain on her face as she remembers the bloody scene, as well as the cold fury that had enveloped her as she looked at what she saw as an extreme injustice. “I never even found out what her name was….is she ok?”

“She’ll be just fine.” Natasha reassures her, coming over to sit on the side of the bed. “Loki stabilized her, and Gabriel healed her the rest of the way. She told the police that her guardian angels saved her life, and protected everyone from the bad alien monsters. Pepper is using the PR to everyone’s advantage as we speak.” She gives her a much gentler smile. “Her name is Suzie, by the way. Anyway, from what I was told, when the shield finally dropped you were bleeding from your nose. It stopped, but there was still a trail down your face.”

Ashley leans back against the headboard in relief, not as worried about the blood as she probably should have been, more relieved by the girls recovery. “Thank goodness for small miracles. Well, I suppose I should go out there and stop Luce before he decides he’s tired of being patient. Eh…I don’t suppose you have some fresh clothes for me?”

“If you go through that door to the left, you’ll find a bathroom with fresh clothes and a very nice, expensive shower. I suggest using it to your advantage before venturing out.” Natasha stands up, going back over to her chair and picking up a book that had been sitting next to it. “I’ll wait for you right here. The testosterone in that room is way too thick for my liking. Don’t worry, you don’t have anything I don’t have myself.” With that she settles back down into the chair and turns her attention back to her book, though Ashley has a feeling she’s very much still aware of everything going on around her. After a couple of seconds she eases her self out of the bed, sheet wrapped around her body despite what Natasha said, and makes her way across the plush carpet to the bathroom, gaping at it as she flips the lights on.

Inside is shower big enough to fit four people, with two seats and three shower heads, one which detaches for a much more thorough cleaning job, filled with an expensive selection of shampoos and body washes, a thick towel hanging on the shower bar along with a washcloth. In addition to the shower, a massive soaking tub with built in jets sits on the opposite side, just begging to be used. The entire bathroom was done in stormy blue and silver colors, leading her to believe Pepper picked the colors instead of Tony as it was actually tastefully done. Looking longingly at the tub for a couple of seconds, she finally relents and heads for the shower instead, taking advantage of the selection to wash up with a refreshing raspberry mint, using the detachable head to wash every nook and cranny.

When she finally gets out of the bathroom, hair French braided and wearing the clothes that Tony likely provided considering they consisted of a overly large Metallica hoody and a pair of jeans that from the brand name alone cost about 200$ a pair, she sees Natasha waiting for her, hands on her hips as she takes in the provided outfit with a smirk. “Yea yea, don’t say a word. Let’s just get in there before Luce decides to play another round of smite the pagan. The first one was bloody enough as it is.”

***********( )*************

As it turns out, Lucifer had already been thinking frankly violent thoughts about at least one of the resident pagans, stemming mainly from the fact that the first time they met, Ashley had been bleeding and under attack, and his skills as a protector had been questioned by said pagan. 

Pagans. His father hated that word, telling him it wasn’t nice to call them that, but it was hard not to see them as anything but the barbaric pantheons that they used to be, that some of them still were. It was why he had no qualms about slaughtering their pretenders on Earth, the overpowered shape shifters that had pretended to be gods for so long, that they forgot they actually weren’t. Hecate perhaps, but not the others. She also had the good sense to get out of that blasted hotel while she had the chance, and didn’t enjoy eating the flesh of men, so that elevated her in his account, even if she did happen to be a witch of some standing.

The pa…being in question was currently sitting across the room with his brother, Thor, speaking to the woman called Pepper about the events of the battle, Loki glancing over every once in a while to catch Lucifers eye and give the most miniscule of smirks, just making his anger grow. It had been like that since he had put Ashley to rest in the guest room, after which the door had been closed and guarded by the red head in the tight leather suit. Normally he would just pop himself inside, as would Gabriel, but they were both respecting the wishes of the woman who looked as if she had no qualms tazering any of them if they attempted to enter the room, as he had a feeling Loki was doing as well. The only other person let into the room had been Pepper, who had ventured in with an armful of clothes after Natasha pulled her to the side and had a brief conversation with her, after which she had given everyone a considering look before locking the door behind her. 

He was beginning to tire of waiting, listening to the man Stark prattle on with questions his brother answered for the both of them, for the most part, mostly questions about the validity of various bible stories after hearing the truth about Jonah from Ashley. Watching the Asgardians, Banner and Rogers gorge themselves on the various foods that Stark ordered, after making sure everyone had adequate medical attention. Noticing Rogers glance over at him every once in a while with a concerned look on his face, especially after the Fury incident. 

Impudent man, demanding to be let into the room with her while she was passed out. Demanding to see her at all, saying she needed to come with him to be questioned…he was lucky to get away with his eye still intact. In the old days he would have just given him a look before waving his hand and making the man implode in a messy, gory blast that splattered the walls, but since being around Ashley he had tried to curb those tendencies, though he did still imagine snapping necks of those who annoyed him. And while he would never admit it, the pink eye patch was pretty amusing. 

In the meantime, everyone else in the room was giving him space so he wouldn’t turn his glare their way. Well, scratch that. The man, Banner, the one who changed back from the green rage beast, had brought him a steaming mug of tea while everyone was waiting for their food to arrive. No words had been exchanged, he had just handing him the mug with a tired, knowing look on his face before walking back to Stark, his own mug in hand.

 

It was a very nice cup of chamomile, and he drank the entire thing after giving it a test sniff. 

His brother and Stark were definitely two of a kind, which could be a very bad thing. Currently they were huddled together at the bar, a bag of Twizzlers already half gone between them, giggling like school girls while Gabriel told Stark all about Noah’s first attempt at the arc, and how he tried to fill it with nothing but male animals. As Lucifer rolls his eyes at a particularly loud guffaw from the adult toddlers corner, there’s a click from the direction of the floors guestroom, and he looks over to see the door opening, the redhead and Ashley both exiting slowly from it.

Lucifer is up and in front of her before anyone else even realizes she’s in the room yet, the only thing blocking him being the redhead, arms crossed as she stares him down for a couple of seconds before moving aside, clearly letting him know she’s not afraid of him, archangel or not. He has to admit, it raises her a little bit in his esteem, but he doesn’t dwell on it as he turns his attention back to Ashley, hair wet and looking at him in amusement. “Are you ok? The red head wouldn’t let anyone in the room other than that Pepper woman, and that pagan wouldn’t let go of you till he put you on the bed.”

“I’m fine Luce, really. Natasha probably wouldn’t let you in because she took off all my dirty, bloody clothes while I was asleep, and didn’t think any guys should be in there while I was half naked and asleep.” She gives him a small hug, knowing it will go a long way in helping him de-stress about the whole situation, then pulls back when something occurs to her. “Wait, you didn’t just pop into the room? Because I’m pretty sure she couldn’t stop you.” 

“I…might have contemplated it.” Lucifer says with a brief flush. “I could have easily cleaned and changed your clothes without even needing to worry about looking you know.”

“Yea, but sometimes its easier for other people if it’s done the old fashioned way, especially if said person is a scary assassin lady who works for a semi secret government agency with flying headquarters. So why didn’t you just pop in then?”

“Because you seemed to be in a safe place, and I could easily pop back in if it sounded like you were having problems. Also, neither Gabriel or the pagan were popping themselves in, and we both know my brother can be just as protective as I am, so I let it be, and decided to sit here and wait.”

Ashley sighs, taking his arm and walking with him towards Tony and Gabriel. “One, his name is Loki, not pagan, please be nice. Also, he’s a member of my pack now, which makes him family. Two, if we’re in the tower, we’re very safe, JARVIS would alert us if anyone tried to break in, as well as if you did actually pop yourself into the room, then Natasha would have likely saw you as a threat, Loki would have popped in as well, and there would have been a brawl in my room while I was still asleep while every other person in the tower would have joined in. So thank you for being patient.”

“Yes, well, it wasn’t completely horrible, other than the feeding frenzy which would have put your teenaged werewolves to shame. The man who turns into the green beast brought me a cup of tea which somehow helped keep me relaxed, and Gabriel…”

“Has been telling me the truth of all the bibles sordid chronicles!” Tony crows merrily, half a Twizzler hanging out of his mouth as he turns to face her, huge grin on his face. “I don’t know why you haven’t introduced me to this guy yet, he’s a hoot! I’m having JARVIS record everything so I have something to listen to when I need to cheer myself up! Are all angels this funny?”

“Not even in the slightest.” Lucifer deadpans, causing Ashley to snort. “Gabriel is a very special case.”

“Yea, most are honestly huge douches. Which I can say because they’re family.” Gabriel replies, smirking at Lucifer. “Present company sometimes excluded. I just so happened to have spent several centuries blending in down here, so I’m much more people friendly. How ya feeling chicka?”

“Like I was watching a tv show and somehow skipped an important episode where shit happens. The last thing I honestly remember is getting angry over that little girl being shot, then it’s mainly just fuzzy images, though Natasha said my nose was bleeding. Somebody mind filling me in?” 

“I think we’d all like to know what happened exactly.” Says a voice behind them, and they turn to see Natasha stand there with her arms crossed, everyone else silent and looking on beside her. “And since you kicked Fury out, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to write him some sort of report, so we might as well do this now so I know how much of it I need to edit.”

“I’m afraid the All Father will want a report from me as well friends.” Thor throws in after finishing his mouth full of food. “Heimdall may see all, but my father will want details of the Chitari attack from every perspective.”

“You mean he will not trust my explanation.” Loki mutters darkly, causing Thor to turn red.

“The couch in here looks large enough, why don’t we all sit down and go over everything that happened from our own point of view?” Steve throws in, ever the peace keeper. “That way we can fill in all the blanks we might have. After all, I’m still just a little confused about how you two knew to show up in the first place. And you’re claiming to be angels? Hard to imagine angels being quite that violent.”

At that, Ashley starts laughing harder than she probably meant to, a chuckle that develops into her holding her sides from laughing so hard, tears streaming down her face as everyone looks at her like she’s crazy, everyone except for the two archangels and Natasha. The three of them have smirks on their faces that are frighteningly similar, and even Loki looks amused by it all. “Ok, did I miss something vital? Because I’ve learned to either be afraid or prepare to see someone get their ass handed to them verbally or physically when Nat starts smiling like that.” Clint says in confusion from his perch on a barstool, watching the three closely as she continues to laugh. “And I’m fairly sure I didn’t do anything this time, so that would leave one of you schmucks.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that.” Natasha reassures the archer, who starts edging around the bar just in case. “I just find it funny the captain here thinks these two are too violent to be angels, and I’m pretty sure she does as well. Have you ever read the bible?”

“Of course I have, I grew up in an Irish household. It was practically my bedtime stories every night.”

“Then you shouldn’t be confused about their ability to do violence. Do the killing of the first born and Sodom and Gomorrah ring any bells?”

“In our defense, Dad did the ordering for that stuff.” Gabriel says as Ashley finally starts calming down from her laughter. “And we followed those orders like good little soldiers. But we also spend a lot of time fighting demons and other occasional baddies, so yea, violence happens. Even as doctored as the book happens to be, we kick a lot of ass in it, so you really shouldn’t be surprised we can fight. Flaming sword ring any bells?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Exactly. Now, if we’re done laughing our heads off…” Natasha glances over at Ashley, who wipes tears from her eyes and nods, smile still taking over her face. “Why don’t we all take a seat and share our information, then go from there.” Not waiting for an answer, she turns and heads towards the massive entertainment area, dragging Clint with her to sit on one of the plush love seats facing the enormous tv and speaker system, leaving a huge sectional, another love seat and two recliners left to the others to fight over. Following her example everyone else enters as well, moving the furniture around so it forms a sort of half circle and sitting down where they can.

Gabriel, after looking around, walks to the love seat and snaps, expanding it enough that it can comfortably sit three, then plops Ashley on it, he and Lucifer sitting on either side of her. Ashley rolls her eyes at the display but rolls with it, knowing it will be easier to let them feel like they’re protecting her from the big bad super heroes. Loki likewise finds himself seated next to Thor on the sectional, and throws Ashley a long suffering look which she can’t help but grin at. Tony and Bruce both take the recliners, while Steve joins Thor and Loki on the couch.

“Here chicka, you might need this.” Gabriel says as everyone else sits down, and he hands her a large cup of what smells suspiciously like Salted Bliss. “I figure after your little nap you might need a pick me up, and most of Starks drinks here are liquor.”

Ashley takes a sip and lets out a happy sigh, feeling the sugar and caffeine rushing through her. “You, sir, are a lifesaver. I’ve been craving this for like two weeks, and it’s never the same when you make it at home, thank you.”

“No problemo. By the way, the Winchesters are taking care of your little music class while you’re gone, said they’ll help clean up the Darach mess, and help train your little teen pack while they’re there.”

“Crap, I forgot to ask Tony for a phone so I could check on them, it’s just been crazy since I popped up Germany. Hopefully nothing major happens while I’m gone.”

Lucifer snorts beside her. “Please, after the mess you all just went through? What else could possibly happen? Surely those two can handle anything that might try and attack, and they have Argent if they need help. I promise, they’ll be fine without you to order them around.”

“I don’t order them around.” Ashley mumbles, but drops it for the time being, taking another sip and relishing the chocolatey, caramely goodness. Surely nothing that bad could happen in that short of time, right?  
***********( )************

“What the hell is wrong with the people in this town? Who buys out every single leg trap they can get a hold of, then sets them all up in a wood where an ass ton of people frequent for some reason, only to catch one friggin coyote? In what world does that make sense?” Dean rants as he narrowly avoids stepping into yet another leg trap. He and Sam had followed the teen into the woods, after noticing Lydia and Stiles sneaking out yet again. “This is just one big lawsuit waiting to happen, that or a bad case of tetanus.”

“Don’t ask me.” Sam replies, shotgun in his hands as they search for at least one of the wayward teens. “The only thing I can think of is that the town is just one big supernatural nexus, and it affects everyone living here. We may have bitten off more than we can chew offering to keep an eye on things here.”

“No joke. These kids are as bad as we are, wandering around trying to solve mysteries like some real life Scooby Doo, only they need weapons a whole lot more. I mean, what kind of kid goes looking for a coyote that may or may not be a shifter without even a knife, a tranq gun, anything? It’s dumb!”

“Yea, no joke. Wait a minute, is that..shit!” Sam breaks into a run as he looks around a tree to see Lydia frozen in place, foot inside of a trap that had yet to close, Stiles on the ground trying to find a way to disable it. “Lydia, are you ok?”

“What do you think?” She snaps back, terror in her eyes as her body shakes from the effort of trying not to move a tiny bit.

“Hey, calm down, we’re here to help your dumb asses.” Dean says, getting a glare from both Sam and Lydia. Stiles is too occupied with the trap to glare, but if he could he very likely would. “Any luck down there kid?”

“I’ve been trying to google how to disable it, but I can’t read anything!” Stiles says, close to tears. “Everything looks like gibberish! I thought the dreams were bad, but it just keeps getting worse! Can you help?”

“Hey, that’s what we’re here for. Sam, you got this?”

“Yea. Move over, I’ll show you how to disable this thing. Dean, get ready to grab her if the thing decides to snap.” Dean gets close and puts his hands on Lydias waist, ready to lift her at a moments notice, while Sam gets on the ground next to Stiles, sweating pouring down his pale face. Taking a deep breath, Sam looks over the trap, trying to figure out the best way to go about freeing her. “Okay Stiles, here’s what we’re going to do. You move around to the other side of the trap, then look for the spring. On my mark, we’re both gonna press down on the spring on our side, and Dean is gonna lift Lydia off the trap, then we let go. Got it?”

“Yea, sure, whatever you say tall guy.” Stiles says, nodding jerkily, then moves quickly around to the other side, locating the spring and hovering his hands above it. Sam glances up and nods at Dean, then looks back down at the trap, counting down from three. At his go, both of them press down heavily on the spring, relaxing the trap, and Dean lifts Lydia up off of it easily, placing her back down to the ground and holding on to her shoulders to keep her steady. Once she’s off the trap, Sam and Stiles quickly let go of the springs and move back as it snaps shut, and Stiles immediately jumps up and moves to Lydias side, pulling her into his arms as she grips him tightly, still shivering.

“No need to thank us, just doing our job.”

Stiles glares at him. “Hey, we didn’t ask you to follow us!”

“Yea? Well if we hadn’t, you might be taking little miss thing to the hospital right now from a leg wound.”

“I might have gotten her out!”

“And you might’ve not. What matters now is that she’s ok, so ditch the attitude! We promised to help out while Ashley is missing, and that’s what we’re gonna do, even if this is the most fucked up town ever and you don’t seem to ever catch a break. Though, looking at it from this perspective, you do seem to go looking for it as much as it finds you.”

“How is it they haven’t found her yet?” Lydia asks before Stiles can throw back a reply at Dean, both visibly agitated. “Aren’t they supposed to be super powerful archangels? It should be a breeze for them.”

“We’re not sure.” Sam says heavily, placing a hand on Deans shoulder and gripping it, making him stop glaring at Stiles. “Though, we do know that just because they’re archangels, it doesn’t mean they’re all powerful or knowing. There are sigils that can block their sight, much like the tattoos that can block a demon from possessing you. We actually have both, though the sigils are carved into our ribs. She may be blocked from them somehow, or purposely hiding, though from Gabriels message she was transported somewhere. I can tell you that, other than Crowley, those two are your best bet for finding her.”

“I just..I cant help but feel like she wouldn’t even be missing if not for those two.” Stiles mutters darkly, kicking at the ground. “Sure they keep helping her, but is that help worth it if it just puts her in more situations that she needs it in the first place? Hell, she already lost Gwaine, and that put her out of commission for three days, which I’m pretty sure she got zero time to recover from before she was whisked away again. So excuse me if I’m not their biggest fan at the moment.”

“Kid, you’re preaching to the choir, believe me. There’s exactly one angel we trust completely, and that one wears a trench coat and knows zip about pop culture and social situations, the rest we barely tolerate.” Dean says, looking Stiles in the eye and holding his gaze. “I can tell you that if it is their fault, they’ll do their best to fix it, and she will get her time to grieve. Right now though, we have a more pressing situation that you kind of inserted yourselves into. So why don’t you tell me where the rest of you went, and we can help you catch this coyote?”

Before Stiles can answer, there’s a howl not far from their position, and they all turn their gaze towards it. “I’d say that would be pretty good place to look.” Stiles remarks, and all four of them start trekking in that direction.

**********( )*************

Meanwhile, in a lavish apartment warded from anyone who didn’t already know its location, Castiel walks through the front door, frowning at the sight of it already unlocked. As one of the few who knew of Balthazar’s existence on earth, he thought to ask Heavens Quartermaster about the reappearance of the staff of Moses. He had luckily reacquired it, and had thought to bring it back so that it could be safely hidden from anyone else meaning to misuse its power.

However, instead of the usually immaculate apartment, he walks into what looked to be the aftermath of a warzone. Shelves overturned, glass shattered, blood splattered in various locations, and what looked to be stab marks in the furniture and walls. Looking into the bedroom, Castiel spied what looked to be a vessel, eyes burnt out from a smiting, but from the amount of damage it was easy to tell there had been more than one attacker. Not only that, but there was no burnt imprint of wings anywhere, so Balthazar wasn’t killed here, if at all. That meant he had either been taken, or he had flew away injured, though from the lack of grace signature, he guessed it was the former.

The question was, who would take him, and why?


	6. The healer in the family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for triggers of miscarriage.

Lucifer and Gabriel pull Ashley aside as soon as all the discussions with the (now dubbed) Avengers and Loki are done, not wanting to explain any more than they need to, and lock the door behind them in the guest room she had originally been in. She takes a seat in the same chair Natasha had sat in while guarding her sleep, looking at the archangels curiously as they sit on the bed in front of her, both looking more tired than they should.

The discussions, while mainly dealing with the main part of the Chitari invasion and what went down with each Avenger, also tried to focus largely on Loki and Ashley’s little fight, as for the most part they only saw the very end with her maintaining the shield. She tried to answer their questions to the best of her ability, Loki every once in a while throwing his two cents in, but some she just had no explanation for, like why she was finally able to get a hold of her two violent friends (from Steve, still not quite believing them to be angels), why she was glowing, how she brought up the shield in the first place…mainly along those lines. Natasha eventually told everyone to stop badgering her, that she really didn’t know and asking her over again wasn’t going to change that. As they moved on to questioning Gabriel, the more social of the two to be sure, Pepper showed back up after dealing with all the PR, took one look at Tony, then drug him by the ear towards the elevators for a much needed shower, looking out right before the doors closed to tell the others to take advantage of the rest of the guest rooms on this floor and the one right below, apologizing for Tony not offering in the first place. As the others split up to do just that, her angels took the time to pull her away.

“Any reason you decided to stash me back in here?” She asks, eyeing the two of them sitting in front of her. “I’m pretty sure everyone else is showering right now, so they won’t be questioning you anymore.”

“I’d rather be in a closed room away from prying eyes.” Lucifer says with a cocked eyebrow. “And our conversations are none of their business. Since you’re determined to stay here and see what happens to that..Loki, instead of letting us take you somewhere else, this is the next best thing.”

“It’s not just that and you know it, though it is a big part of it. There was a freaking attempted alien invasion, Luce….aliens! Who knows what might have happened if we hadn’t been there to help, if I hadn’t saved Loki from that creature possessing him. I’m kinda invested in it now, if I want to be or not.”

“You don’t actually have to be though. With as few people who saw you, we could do a memory wipe no problem. Surely they can handle things from here.” Gabriel says nonchalantly, getting a glare from Ashley in response. “Joking, joking, don’t have a cow chicka. Geez, those Winchesters have really rubbed off on you.”

“Nope, it’s just me. And besides, do you really think you would be able to erase Thor and Lokis memories? Because I have feeling you wouldn’t. And now that Loki’s a member of my pack he’ll be connected to me whether you try or not. And I’m not removing it, because he actually needs the help it can give him.” She sighs heavily, putting her head in her hands for a couple of seconds before looking back up at them. “But that’s not the main reason you dragged me away. You wanna talk about what’s going on with me, right? Because I’d sure as hell like some sort of explanation for my glowing and passing out and…oh, oh, the fact I got transported to Germany somehow! Because unless I somehow adopted the ability to fly from you somehow, I shouldn’t be able to do that, and it’s not something I need randomly happening!”

“We know.” Lucifer replies somberly. “And we want to get to the bottom of it as much as you do. The problem is we have no previous happenings to compare it with. The only times grace has been shared with a human, it was only one angel sharing for the good, or several who, in Joan of Arcs case, didn’t care for humanity and ended up driving her insane.”

“Yea, this is definitely breaking new ground. Usually the angels chosen for sharing grace were very ambivalent about said human, and it would always turn out the same way. Problem is, both of us already liked you, and in turn our graces did too. So we can’t predict anything at this point. We might have done a major dumb when we both shared with you.”

“Now you tell me. So is there anything we can do?”

“Well, since daddio did his disappearing act again, we thought we might have another one of our brothers take a look at you. Our brother Raphael, the fourth and final of our archangel quartet. Now, I’ll be the first to admit he has a major stick up his metaphysical ass sometime, worse than Mikey, but he knows his shit. He’s the archangel of healers, so should be your best bet. If he can’t help…well, we’ll just have to look elsewhere.”

Ashley turns to Lucifer. “Do you really think he might be able to help?”

“Let’s hope so.” Lucifer says, looking her in the eye, and she takes a second to study his face. He had red stubble covering his jaw, showing he hadn’t bothered shaving or just making the hair go away, and his hair was messy, like he just got out of bed and hadn’t looked in a mirror, which he probably hadn’t . If not for the serious look in his eyes, he might have looked as if he were trying for the beach bum look. “As it is, you’ve managed to turn your blade into the flaming sword Michael usually wields, and even if one of our younger brothers got ahold of an archangel blade they wouldn’t be able to summon that particular weapon because it resonates with an archangels particular grace and power level. The Darach you beheaded? Evaporated into ash as soon as the left its body simply because it was done with the flaming sword.”

“That’s what happened?” Ashley says in a choked voice, face white. “My memory’s kinda fuzzy that night…I remember getting angry and seeing the Darach, but it was like seeing everything through glasses that aren’t nearly strong enough while on hydro tens. I…killed her?”

“Hey now.” Gabriel says, grabbing her hand as she looks like she’s gonna curl into a ball. “That chick was bad news, and to be honest barely a chick anymore. She sacrificed, no, murdered, who knows how many people just for a power up, and didn’t give a damn who she used in the process. Killing is never easy, but you did a good thing taking her out of the picture, even if part of you did it with being fully aware of it at the time. She would have killed your jumpy little cousin without a second thought. Didn’t you ever kill anything while you were trekking with the Winchesters?”

“Other than the succubus? No. Dean and Sam did that part pretty vigorously, though I did fend off a couple of vicious spirits. Oh, and I beheaded a vampire when I first met them. I think they wanted to keep me from actually killing as much as possible, especially when whatever we hunted looked human.”

Lucifer shakes his head with a heavy sigh. “I understand their reasoning behind it, if we could we would do the same. But other than stashing you away in heaven, now that you know about the supernatural side of things and have been seen with the Winchesters, there’s a high chance you will constantly need to be on guard, and prepared to kill if need be. Now that you’ve gotten involved with this mess? The chances are increased even more so.”

“I know. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, or won’t try to just injure them if I can. Sometimes they’re just trapped in a bad situation and need help. It took forever for me to convince those boneheads not to shoot first in every situation.”  
“Just use your best judgement. Remember, not everything wants, or deserves, a second chance.”

“And if I believed that, you might not be here right now.” She says, throwing a half assed glare at Lucifer, who blushes and nods in acceptance. “So, when can we meet with Raphael? Because I’m ready for some answers, and it might be better to get them before I head back home. Last thing I need is to pop off again in the middle of class, or accidently go on a killing rampage because someone attacked one of my pack.”

“We can call him down now, if you’re ok with it.” Gabriel says, standing up and taking a snickers out of nowhere. “We’ll have to put you back to sleep though, so he can look at you easier, and we don’t need anyone bothering us while he does.”

Ashley thinks about that for a second, then looks up at seemingly nothing. “Hey JARVIS, you’ve been listening in, right?”

*Correct Miss Roeswood.”

“When Tony gets done showering, could you tell him what’s going on? Then warn anyone else not to try and come in until we’re done? This is kinda private, and if it includes Tony at all I’ll talk to him when we’re done.”

*As you wish. I shall warn away anyone who tries to enter, as well as locking the door myself. You might also consider asking Mister Barton to exit the vents above your room as well.” The last part could almost sound amused, and Gabriel narrows his eyes and snaps his fingers. There’s a clunking and cursing sound above them as Clint is booted quickly from the vents to who knows where, and Ashley shakes her head with a smile on her face. 

“All right, now that the bird boy’s gone, let’s get Raph and get this party started. Yo, come on down! We need your medical expertise pronto!”

“No need to shout brother, I was waiting for you to be ready for me.” Says a voice from behind them, and Ashley turns to see a skinny black man with what looks to be a permanent bitch face pasted on, eyes full of disdain as he takes her in. “I still don’t see why I’m here, however. Finding out what’s wrong with your pet monkey isn’t listed among my duties, especially after her friends already did away with one of my vessels.”

As she hears all of this, Ashleys eyes widen in surprise, not expecting this, especially since so far the other archangels had been extremely polite to her .

Well, after Michael knocked her into a tombstone and caused her to be stabbed in the stomach, that is.

Her eyes widen further as Lucifer snarls and walks forward, eyes pulsing with anger. “You are doing this because not only has Father tasked me personally to seeing to her welfare, naming both of us her guardians, she is our friend. Not our pet, not a monkey, and certainly not anything else rude you could come up with, but our friend, and the only reason I’m standing here today redeemed, no apocalypse in sight. So unless you want to go against our Fathers wishes on keeping her safe and protected, you will look her over!” Ashley stands up and walks over to him, grabbing his arm and squeezing gently, trying to calm him down or at least turn his attention away from the other. Lucifer doesn’t look away but backs up until he stands next to her, and she slips her hand down till she can grab his.

Gabriel, who had been silently watching this whole exchange from the side, walks up as Ashley attempts to calm his older brother down. “As you can see, Luce here still has a bit of a temper, and chicka here is his new button, so I would suggest not pressing it. You might not be able to tell, but I’m pretty fond of her as well, so I would suggest not pushing it around me either. Now, you already agreed to take a look, and even if it was only because Michael was there at the time, we still need your help. Think of it as a way to look into something that’s never happened before, can you do that? Does that appeal to your inner Doctor House?”

 

Raphael stares impassively at him for a couple of seconds, going back and forth to stare at Ashley and Lucifer as well, before finally coming to a decision. “Fine. Father wants her kept alive, so I suppose I must. However, I’m not doing it to calm your temper, brother. I could care less what makes you angry. I am interested in investigating whatever it is I assumed you’ve caused though. Tell me, how did this mysterious ailment start?”

Gabriel speaks for the two of them, Lucifer still too busy glaring at the dark skinned angel to be trusted to do so, Ashley sill gripping his hand in case he surges forward again. “Well, if you want from the very beginning, It started with Lucy here giving chicka a bit of his grace, leaving an imprint of an anti demon possession tattoo behind her ear. He said it was to help keep her from being possessed, that his version couldn’t erased from her skin or destroyed.”

“Might I see the mark?” Raphael asks, looking at Ashley. She nods, stepping forward, or, trying to at least, as Lucifer still has her hand in a vice like grip. 

“Luce, he isn’t going to hurt me, he just wants to look at my tattoo.” She says, looking back at him and speaking in a calming tone. “It’ll just be for a moment, ok?” Lucifer nods curtly and lets go, eyes never leaving her as she inches closer to Raphael, turning to the side and moving her braid out of the way so he can see the silvery mark. The archangel looks closely at it, touching it gently as his eyes glow briefly, then arches his eyebrow as he lowers his hand and moves back, allowing Ashley to move back to the side of her intense guardian.

“I sense more than one grace connected with mark, however, it wasn’t immediately obvious when looking at her when it should be.”

Gabriel scratches the back of his head and looks anywhere but Raphael. “Yea, I may have added some of my own in as well so I could keep better track of her, not that it’s helped much lately. Didn’t really think about the consequences at the time.”

Raphael narrows his eyes at the youngest archangel who looks extremely guilty as he continues to avoid his brothers gaze. “So this girl contains a portion of both of your graces? And she hasn’t became unhinged yet?”

“No. Unlike Joan, we actually give a damn about Ashleys life, and it reflects in how our grace reacts with her.” Gabriel says as he finally meets Raphaels gaze. “So going crazy isn’t going to be an issue. Capiche?”

“Fine.” Raphael says, folding his arms across his chest. “But you have to acknowledge that having even the tiniest bit of grace from two separate archangels will have some sort of repercussion. Father should have warned you of that when he brought you back into the fold and made you her guardian.”

“You know dad never tells us squat, even when he needs to. And why do ya think we asked for your help, with your stunning people skills?”

“I’m sure I have no idea. Did she start speaking in tongues? Threaten to slaughter the first born of a group of non believers?”

“Not exactly.”

“What then?”

“Welll…..did you know she was given an archangel blade to defend herself?”

“Please tell me you’re kidding. Michael approved of you giving her one of our weapons? A human who can’t even use it to its true potential?”

“The human is still in here you know, not deaf yet.”

“Michael allowed one to be made specifically for her.” Lucifer growls, temper flaring again at Raphaels dismissal of her. “And she’s had no problems with using it. It’s on her finger now!” When Raphael shows a brief flash of surprise, she lifts her hand to show him the ring, having it change first to a dagger, then a shield, and then finally a bracelet climbing up her arm before finally shrinking it back down to the ring, all taking a matter of 30 seconds so he can track the change as it happens.

“It shouldn’t be able to change quite like that.” Raphael murmurs, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “The blade should only be able to change into various weapons.”

“I experimented with it a bit, since I couldn’t exactly carry around a long silver looking blade covered in glowing sigils.” She explains, all of the archangels paying attention as she expands it to its original form. “And my cousin was already convinced that the first one was some sort of shiny vibrator. So I kept thinking that it would be easier if I could have it in a much more innocent form, one that I could have close at hand no matter what, and was able to eventually turn it into a ring, a necklace, and a bracelet. I mainly have it as a ring because it will always be in my hand when I need it.”

“I will admit that is a bit impressive, for a human.” Raphael reluctantly admits. “I suppose traveling with the Winchesters you would need a fast access to a weapon when one of their hunts eventually goes bad.”

“Well, yea, but I haven’t traveled with them this entire time and I still have to use it way too often for my liking. The town I live in seems to have no end of supernatural baddies.”

“Like the fact that she fought a Darach a couple of days ago. And killed it no less….by summoning a flaming sword. One of our flaming swords, to be exact.” Lucifer says, face smug as he watches his brother closely.

He isn’t disappointed. Raphaels head snaps up, eyes wide and disbelieving as he shoots a glance at the girl in question, who looks embarrassed by all the close scrutiny. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“As sure as I am that Dean and Cas are in denial about the fact that they wanna bone each other. I saw it happen myself, we both did. As soon as she beheaded it, both the body and head turned to ash.”

“Show me.” Raphael demands, and Gabriel does as he asks, putting his fingers to his brothers head and showing him the memory from that night. Ashley and Lucifer both watch as Raphael views the memory, both apprehensive as to how he’ll react as so far he’s been dismissive of her, as well as quite rude. When it ends, his eyes immediately seek out Ashley, face taking on the look of someone who’s discovered a new species, or a new type of element, no longer dismissive of her, but inquisitive. “This definitely needs to be looked into. Girl…”

“Her name is Ashley.” Lucifer says darkly.

“What? Ah yes, Ashley. Why don’t you lay down on the bed here, and we’ll have a closet look at what’s going on.” Ashley hesitates for a moment but does as he asks, nervous to find out what exactly is going on, but ready as well. Lucifer leans over and gives her a tentative smile before placing his fingers over her temple and putting her to sleep. As Raphael comes over to start his scan of her, he grabs his arm and glares at him warningly. “Remember, she isn’t one of your lab rats. I’m trusting you with you with her life, so don’t make me regret it.”

“Yes brother, I understand. I won’t harm a hair on her head, I’m just doing a deep scan and diagnosis so we can understand what’s going on with her. Now back up and let me do my job.” As the former devil finally relents, backing up to stand next to Gabriel and watch closely, Raphael starts his work. Sitting on the bed next to her prone form, he places a hand at either temple, eyes glowing a pearl color as the shadows of wings form behind him, and he starts his search. As he looks her body glows the tiniest bit in return, and every once in a while his body would twitch, or his head would cock to the side as if running into something he was unsure about. At one point, Lucifer narrows his eyes as a stylized, dark blue tattoo appears on her neck, only to disappear just as fast as it appeared. If it had not been covered by the hoody she was wearing, he would have seen the tiniest of dragons, the same color as the tattoo on her neck, curled into a spiral right above her heart, looking for all the world as if it was sleeping deeply.

If you looked even closer, it could almost be breathing.

Thirty minutes pass before his scan is finally complete. As his eyes finally stop glowing, wing shadows shrinking to nothing, there is a look on his face neither brother can quite interpret, and they both take a step forward in anticipation of his verdict. “Well?” Gabriel asks first, tapping his foot impatiently. “What can you tell us?”

Raphael looks up at them and moves to the chair next to the bed before saying anything, fingers steepled together as he contemplates how to begin. “She…was not what I expected.”

“Yea yea, we knew that part, what else can you tell us?” Gabriel presses with a frown, knowing Lucifer won’t appreciate any beating around the bush.

“Well, for one, you couldn’t take your grace back now even if you wanted to. It has merged with her soul, her very being, instead of just being an extra running through her body. Not only that, but it seems to have grown the tiniest bit from the small amount you both originally gave her.”

“Ok…that’s more like it. Also, very weird. Go on?”

“Of course. The sections of grace from each of you, while remaining independent from the main body, seem to have brought over other quirks of yours as well. Tell me Gabriel, do you still feel the need to enact just deserts on those who deserve it?”

Gabriel frowns slightly. “I do, but not as strongly. Are you telling me she got that from me? She did seem a bit vengeful when she killed the Darach.”

“No. Not the just deserts, but the original version, the justice. She has a compulsion running through her now to, in a low key way, make sure those who are wronged will get justice for the deeds done against them. She may be able to ignore it for the most part, but the greater the wrong, the stronger it will be. And yes, it may turn to vengeance in some cases. From you, Lucifer, it seems she already had a love of music, and she may be able to use music to her advantage in some way. I cannot tell at this point, however, as it hasn’t came into play yet. She..uh…may have adopted some of your anger as well.”

“Argh, I told you.” Gabriel says with a groan. “Vengeance and your temper is a bad combination.”

“Yes, but her normal disposition may balance it out.” Lucifer argues, though he worries about it as well. “Do you know why she’s been doing things she has little to no control over, like the random transport to Germany, the leaving a dopple ganger in her place, the summoning of the sword in the first place? Not to mention her passing out every time? Those are the more pressing matters at this point.”

“You need to be patient, there was quite a lot to dig through, and I’m going to get to it all in due time.” Raphael says, narrowing his eyes at his older brother, in full doctor mode now and not willing to put up with any nonsense. “Do you want the full diagnosis or not?”

“Yes, it’s the only reason you’re here after all.”

“Then quiet yourself until I have finished.” He pauses for a moment, eyeing the two of them, and they both give short nods, not willing to interrupt again in case he refuses to tell the rest of what he found. “Thank you. Now, in the case of the random abilities, I don’t have a firm answer, but I can hazard an educated guess. Since you both gave her grace and it has seemed to meld with her, it tries to think of her as an angel, using so far the abilities you yourselves used more often than not. However, she isn’t an angel, she’s a human, and using those powers, even unconsciously, puts a strain on her body since she wasn’t born to be a vessel. The grace is blocking her from using too much, drawing off of your desire to protect her, but at the same time the block is starting to crack as the grace slightly grows, and as she has need of it. There is no way of knowing how long it will last, nor what else she’ll be capable of. However, from what I saw it does stem mainly from her desire to protect others, especially children, which is likely why your justice aspect was shared with her so easily. As well, her emotions, when heightened, will affect what happens, as grace doesn’t always play nice with human emotions.” Raphael frowns slightly as another thing comes to mind. “There was another block as well, this one on her mind, specifically over what seemed to be a specific set of memories. I couldn’t see past it to see what it was from, but it looked to be close to cracking as well. You will need to keep a close eye on her once it does, as the memories coming back may cause confusion as they try to fit themselves in with the rest.”

“That must be from when Gwaine died.” Gabriel says, looking down at her sleeping form with a sad expression. “She took it hard enough that she left an unconscious doppelganger behind while she was transported somewhere else. We have no idea where she went, only that she doesn’t remember it at all…she still thinks she was asleep for three days straight. We tried to find her several times while she was gone, but it was like she wasn’t anywhere we could even reach. You’re saying you couldn’t see past it at all?”

“No, and I have no idea why you think I would be able to if you can’t, it’s not my area. You would likely need to contact one of the true pagan deities for that, they have some that specialize in memories. I can tell you that it’s likely attached to another painful memory for her, thus the reason for the block.”

“It’s more than we hoped for.” Gabriel replies as Lucifer sneers at the idea of asking a pagan for help. “Anything else? I mean honestly, how much more could there be?”

“Not much related to the grace. She will eventually need a grounding point if she means to keep using the abilities the grace allows her, someone or something to help her focus it to her will, or else it will keep taking higher tolls on her. Her…pack I believe she calls it, will help with that. The larger it is, the more stability she’ll have. The wolf and demon actually did a good thing when granting her that particular perk…may have saved her life in fact.”

“Hear that? You owe Crowley big time!” Gabriel tells his brother with a smirk, who had moved to sit on the other side of the bed with Ashley, grumbling about pagans and stupid demons and something else that sounded Celtic. “Ole shorty and stylish will get a kick out of that as soon as he gets through cleaning up hell hound puppies.”

“You said that was all related to the grace.” Lucifer says all of a sudden, looking over at his brother sitting in the chair, hands pressed to his chin in thought. “Is there something wrong that isn’t?”

Raphael looks over at him, his own eyes actually tinged with something that looks amazingly like sympathy. “I’m not sure if it’s connected or not. It may actually be from the memory blocked from her.”

“What is?”

“Has she ever spoken to you about children…a loss of a child maybe?”

Both the archangels look at each other confused, no clue what their brother could be getting at. “No…” Gabriel says, frown on his face as he glances over at her for a second, at how peaceful she seems. “She’s good with them though. I assume she wants children someday, but she’s never talked about if she’s lost one. Why, is she pregnant now? Are we going to have a baby chicka? Because if so I have a wolf to shave then murder.”

“No, she’s not pregnant, no murder required. There are signs of her having a miscarriage, however. As well… I don’t know how to soften this, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. I tried to heal her when I discovered it, but it resisted every attempt, leaving me to believe it may have been caused either by a higher power than any of us, or some sort of dark magic. She, at this point in time, lacks the ability to have children. I’m not sure if it can be cured, or if it will ever revert back, but I lack the power to heal her. I’m afraid this might actually be her price.” 

Gabriel and Lucifer both go white with shock, looking over at Ashley and imagining her never able to have children, tiny versions of her they would love just as much as they do her. Ashley watching as everyone around her has children, or that she might finally meet the one and he leaves her because to him, adoption just isn’t the answer to problem that could be solved by being with someone else, someone fertile that could continue his name.

Having to be the ones to tell her that they might be the reason she can never hold a child of her own.

Raphael watches the two of them as they take everything in finally, and stands after a minute, face back to its impassive state. “I believe my work here is done. If anything else comes up, you may call on me again. I suppose you’re going to need to decide what you want to tell her now, what will hurt the least as these humans have fragile emotional states, her even more so now. If I might make a suggestion, try and find her a grounding point when you can, unless you want even more damage done to her. That, or see if she can increase the size of her pack, that should help. Of course, it might also increase her abilities as well, but it’s a chance you will probably want to take.”

“Thank you, brother.” Lucifer says quietly, and Raphael is shocked by his change in tone, as well as the offer of thanks. “We appreciate you taking a look for us, and offering your advice.”

Raphael stares down at his older brother, never imaging he would change this much, especially because of a silly human, the creation that resulted in his exile to the cage in the first place. It was almost a sobering thought, one that made him think that if his hot headed brother could change his ways for this slip of a girl, what else could be possible? His brother, who at one point led a rebellion against their own father because he refused to love them more than him? Who had vowed to slaughter them all if he was ever freed, and set his demonic generals to ensure it happened? Perhaps there was more to these humans than he had thought, if one of them could calm Lucifer this much.

“One last bit of advice for you, loathe as you might be to hear it.” Raphael says gently, feeling that, as a healer, it was his duty to do all he could (that’s what he was telling himself anyway). “I know you have no love for them, but the pagans might be able to help more than you would think. The two here already, in this tower, their people are known for their prowess with both magic and healing. Since our father is conveniently not around to help yet again, they might be your next best choice. We might be powerful, but we are not ALL powerful…there are things that we cannot do even as archangels. Sometimes must put aside our pride in order to achieve our goals. Farewell, my brothers, and I wish you luck.”

Lucifer and Gabriel look up in surprise just in time to see the second youngest archangel fly away, not willing to watch the two wallow in sadness any longer. Lucifer stares at the blank space for a moment longer, contemplating his last words, before turning back to Gabriel. “Are you happy, now that we have the answers we seeked, if not all of them? Because I’ll be damned if I’m not. Finding out that because of our meddling her body will be strained every time our grace decides to lend her a hand, unless we find her a grounding point? That she’s now your avatar of justice on earth, fueled by my temper? That we very well may be the reason she can never have children? She loves children, and that damn pack of hers is all the proof you need!”

 

“No shit Sherlock, I was there when her nephew came to visit, remember?” Gabriel replies, voice low. “She doted on him, and even as dangerous as it was for him to be there she was heartbroken when he left.”

“So then what do we do? Do we tell her everything? She deserves to know what we’ve done!”

“Of course she does, damnit! Don’t tell me what I already know!” Gabriel snaps, his usual calm demeanor gone and showing his stress at the situation. “I don’t think we should tell her everything at once though. Maybe we should leave off telling her, like, 12 percent.”

“…12 percent.”

“Yea. Sorry, I know this isn’t a time for jokes, it’s just my fallback. We can tell her most of it for now, like the bits about her needing a grounding point and what’s going on with her grace in the first place. Then, later, when she’s gotten used to those tidbits, we can tell her about the memory block and the fact she can’t have kids. Man, I hate saying that, I’m so used to be able to fix stuff like that, finding out even Raph can’t heal her is kinda big.”

“You aren’t the only one. I suppose that’s the only thing we can at the moment, since neither of us are brave enough to tell her the rest just yet.” Lucifer says, not liking it but also not able to make himself go through with the rest. “Come on, let’s wake her up, so we can tell her the easy part.”

“Speak for yourself. One of us is gonna have to talk to the godlings about getting her help, and since you like to send Loki death glares it probably needs to be me.” Sighing, they both go to wake her, ready to give her the news.

******************( )*****************)

In hell, Crowley had finally finished helping Growly give birth to her puppies, having refused to leave her side as hell hounds were notorious for having difficult births. Part of it simply stemmed from the fact that while hell hounds tended to breed with canines that weren’t hell hounds themselves to bring in new bloodlines, the hellhound gene was always dominant, and thus the births tended to be fiery and bloody.

As Crowley wipes his hands on a towel, looking down at the exhausted Growly surrounded by her new pups, he can’t help but think that it went much better than he had anticipated. Usually at least one pup would end up still born, or not survive once outside the warm protection of it’s mothers stomach, but all of the pups were so far alive and well, a good half of them showing very wolfy features. Growly deserved a large, juicy steak once she was awake, as she would need lots of extra food to help keep the little devils fed, and while he didn’t mind helping by bottle feeding a couple, he would much rather she do the feeding herself. Perhaps Ashley would enjoy bottle feeding one, to help with the death of her beloved by letting her cuddle one of his offspring. One of them in particular, a little girl if he was right, was a beautiful silver color, and was currently sleeping on top of all the others.

He curses aloud as he realizes that he’ll need to go topside to find out if anyone ever found her, as he hasn’t heard a peep from anyone since Growly went into labor. The one demon who did try and intrude was immediately killed, Crowley not even looking his way as he snaps his fingers.

Closing his eyes and concentrating, he smiles as he senses her finally, though it droops a bit as he senses two archangels with her. Opening them back up, he decides to let her have her time with them before showing up, needing to keep an eye on the new family for a little longer anyway. Glad that she was found at least, he makes sure Growly and the puppies are all asleep before heading off for a much needed shower and to get that steak after all.


	7. Have a Muffin

“Are you sure you have to go? Because as much as I trust Thor to tell the truth, he wasn’t in that cell with you when I got that thing out of you, and I really don’t trust them not to stick you in another cell once you’re there. You could always stay here and wait for him to come back with a response!”

“And watch Fury try to recapture me? Either way, a one eyed ruler will demand my attention, and as much as I dread it, I must show I will come back of my own accord, and coming back with Thor, no cuff or muzzle restraining me, will go a long way in shocking them enough to listen.” He smiles at the girl as she watches him worriedly, reminding him of Frigga. “Do not fret, Thor will make sure I am treated fairly, and once I show them my memory of the event they will have no choice but to believe me.”

“You can do that? How?”

“It’s a type of scrying that moth…Lady Frigga does. She can place the fingers of one hand onto your temple, then the others into a bowl of clear water, and the memory will show in the water. If anyone has tampered with the memory she will be able to tell, and depending on how exactly it was tampered with she has the ability to show the truth of it.”

Ashley turns back to the oven and pulls out the muffins she had baked on a whim after discovering the fully stocked kitchen that looked like it had never been used, barring the coffee maker. Gabriel and Lucifer had woken her not long after Raphael had left and told her what he had discovered (most of it at least), and after processing it, she had turned to the one habit that usual helped her think when she couldn’t ride her bike, asking Jarvis to access her phones music library so she have some mood music. Most of the others were still in various guest rooms, napping or whatever else you do alone in a room, so she had the kitchen all to herself until Loki wandered in, not wanting to stay in a room with his snoring brother, and decided to keep her company. “She sounds like an amazing woman. You must care for her a lot.”

Loki goes silent for a moment as she places the muffins on a cooling rack. “She is. She taught me everything she knew when it became apparent I did not love battle the same way my brother did. And yes…I suppose I do. She never had any qualms about raising me as her own, never treated me like I was lesser than Thor. Odin may not be my father, but Frigga will always be my mother.”

“Maybe you should call yourself Loki Friggasson then.” Ashley says, turning back to him with a muffin, handing to him as surprise touches his face for a moment. “Since you respect her so much. That’s a Norse thing, right?”

“It is.” He admits, looking at the muffin curiously as she takes one for herself and perches on a barstool. “It would likely please her to no end, and annoy Odin the same amount. What…is this exactly? A type of small fruit cake?”

“It’s a muffin.” She says, then gapes at his look of confusion. “Really, no muffins on Asgard? You’re missing out. Muffins are like tiny breakfast cakes, cupcakes without the frosting. And yes, some of them are made with fruit, but this one is my favorite and an all around classic, chocolate chip. Go on, take a bite!” He stares at it dubiously for a moment before raising it to his lips and taking a tiny bite, chewing for a moment before his face lights up, eyes twinkling.

“This is quite good! It’s very moist, not too sweet yet satisfying! You say some are made with fruit?”

“Banana nut, blueberry, white chocolate cranberry, cinnamon swirl….and those are just the most common flavors. They’re pretty filling too, in case you need a quick bite on the go. You really like it?”

“I do. I’m also very glad Thor is not awake yet, as that bottomless pit would have finished off half the batch by now. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She says with a pleased smile. “I like feeding people, and since baking is my hobby for when I need to think it comes in handy. Also, I made enough that not only will the others get some when they wander back in here, but you can bring some back with you to Asgard. Give Lady Frigga one for me.”

“I shall.” He says, inclining his head to her. “What do you need to think about, if I might ask? Does it have anything to do with why your guardians aren’t here watching you at the moment? The red head seems quite…angry.”

“It does, and please don’t mess with him when he gets back, I don’t wanna clean up whatever mess happens because of it.” She says, taking a bite of her muffin and listening to the sound of pentatonix in the background for a moment before sighing. “They asked their brother to come down and do a scan of me when everyone separated to shower and nap. He’s a type of medical expert, so they had him look to see if he could tell why I was having certain reactions to things.”

“And? What was the prognosis?”

“Well, he found out a couple of different things. First off, the grace they gave me somehow merged with my soul, instead of just floating around in my body, and every time they use grace on or around me it grows a tiny bit. Not only that, but I got a couple of quirks from them, like Gabriels tendency for justice and Lucifers anger issues. There was something else about using music somehow, but I’m not sure what I could use it for.”

He nods, taking the talk seriously as he can see how worried she is about everything. “Anger and justice can be a potent combination. You seem fair tempered, however. Perhaps you will be able to control it if you practice. And I have heard of using music to achieve certain goals, but generally just for sirens and spells that require concentration. I can look it up in the library at Asgard, if you like. Perhaps Frigga might even have some ideas.”

“If you could ask her I would really appreciate it. So, along that all that, the grace that merged with me somehow considers me an angel, and tries to have me do things that angels can do, but at the same time has a block up so I can’t use those powers all the time, whatever they are, because it puts a major strain on my body since I’m not a vessel meant to use them. They have no idea what all I can do, but it seems to pop up more when I feel like I need to protect of defend people, and the block is starting to crack. Raphael says I’ll need to eventually either find a grounding point if I keep using whatever powers I wind up with to help focus them, or make my pack larger to help with stability. Problem is, the larger the pack, the stronger my abilities will end up, so it’s kind of a good news, bad news thing. Oh, and the fact I was made a human alpha probably saved my life. And that’s about it…I’ll probably keep getting weak and passing out every time I use them, on purpose or not, I can’t remove the grace, and I live in one of the most eventful towns in the world, supernaturally speaking, so I’ll always have to be on guard. Oh, oh, and the guy I was interested in wants to kill a member of my pack to try and take his true alpha status from him. So there’s that.” She finishes and takes a large bite of her muffin with a huff, washing it down while Loki stares at her, neither of them noticing Natasha leaning in the doorway, muffin in hand as well as she listens in.

“Is that all?” Loki finally asks, as Ashley merely nods in reply. “I must say, I didn’t expect to be tethered to such an…interesting mortal. You're lucky to have me as an ally, as it sounds like you're going to need quite a bit of help in the coming days.”

“But you're going back to Asgard, you won't be able to help!”

“Have faith. Even if they do lock me up, they can't keep me there forever. If I want out, I’ll find a way out. As it is, I’m fairly sure that, as I’m now a member of your little pack, you have more authority over me than the All Father, and if you demand my return he will have to grant it.”

“Please, my authority? I have all the authority of a soggy piece of bread, and I have a strange feeling you and authority figures mesh like oil and water. Can you see me even giving you an order? Because frankly I can't.”

Loki chuckles at her blatant honestly clear view on things. “While it's true that I usually do tend to clash with authority, I will actually be honor bound to obey any requests you might have for me since you are technically my rescuer. And while I cannot see you giving orders you mean to be followed as you are now, I can see it happening in the heat of the moment. You might not even mean to do it, but it will happen. As an alpha, it’s part of you.” For a moment he can actually see it, like a vision of the future. Ashley, face stern and eyes hard as steel, dressed in a thin black armor with an army behind her made up of friends and pack from all over, facing enemies with no concept of mercy or morality. Vision Ashley raises a bloody sword up the sky as the army behind her yells incoherently, something large and shadowed flying in the background, and Loki shakes his head in confusion as the vision ends. Was that meant to be, or just one of many paths for her? He always hated when stuff like that happened as a child, he never knew if it was to happen or not, and Frigga always to him to tell her when it happened, in case they needed to prepare, or prevent whatever might happen.

“Yea well, the only ordering around I’m ok with is telling my student to research for class. And telling Stiles to wake up so he can go to school. Oh, and to stop pissing off Derek because some day he might actually tear out his throat with his teeth.”

“You have some very strange acquaintances.” 

“Yep. Friends, family, enemies, we’re all quirky. Welcome to the club, and I can promise you will at least get fed well as a perk of joining.” Loki gives a real smile at that, not one of his sarcastic smirks, and she feels like she won a battle.

“So how exactly can you help her then?” Natasha asks out of the blue, startling them both. “Because I saw you after you helped Loki, and you looked pretty weak for a time. Not to mention how long you slept after the portal was closed. You say it might get worse as the block starts cracking?”

“Uhh, yea. Something like that. Gabe hopes my body will acclimate to it as the crack gets bigger, but I’m not so optimistic. I already got beamed to Germany once, and I’d rather it not happen again.”

“Sounds like you need to find a grounding point, whatever that is.”

“I think it used to be Gwaine…he always was able to keep me calm and honestly sane when crap happened, and it was only was he killed that things started to get worse.”

“Grounding points are usually very personal things.” Loki explains to the two women. “So it makes sense your close companion was it for you. Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as merely finding another wolf, or animal in general. You had a close bond with him, which made the partnership all the stronger. You would need to find someone or something that helps you focus your abilities and make things easier for you. I would also suggest training as well, to further help with your control.”

“What kind of training?”

“Meditation perhaps, sparring, magic training…anything that can clear your mind and keep you calm and relaxed.”

“The first two won’t be hand to find.” Natasha says in a thoughtful tone. “Any one of us here could help with the sparring, and Banner likely knows some very handy meditation techniques. Tony could probably find some closer to home if you needed it.”

“Uhhh, magic training though? I’ve been told magic and grace really doesn’t mix that well.” Ashley says nervously.

“Yea, it really doesn’t. “Gabriel says cheerfully, popping around the corner and grabbing a muffin, eating half of it in one bite. “Mmm, I knew I smelled chocolate goodness. Yea, magic and grace tends to make things go boom when they mix. It took 4 covens to figure that out when they tried to trap and bind me to their will. It really shouldn’t have, since they kept imploding when the tried the spell.”

“Pleasant.” Loki says with a grin. “Witches really don’t learn, do they? I’ve had run ins myself, messed with their spirit boards a bit, switched the entrails around…fun stuff like that.”

“Heh, they really rely on those entrails being what they’re supposed to be. Point is, magic training probably not a smart plan until we know how its gonna react with her, and then can find a trustworthy witch. Which might actually be impossible.”

“Where did you guys fly off to?” Ashley asks the short archangel as he snags another muffin. “You kinda told me the situation then bolted.”

“Sorry chicka, we had to check on some things we’d kinda been ignoring lately, and figured you were safe here.” Gabriel tells her a bit guiltily. “Luce had to check in on the whole kidnapping of supes thing since both him and Crowley have been out of the playing field, and I…well, I needed to check on someone. Tell ya later, promise.” She nods in agreement but notices the worried look in his eye, and decides to talk to him a bit more when they’re able to, without prying ears.

“All right, no magic training then. Would there be a chance she could come to Asgard somehow? Mother might be able to help her like she did me, I had control issues as well for a while. They may eventually wish to inspect her as it is, as she’s the one who freed me from the Others control.”

“Ehh, I don’t know, Luce might bust an artery if I left her to the devices of the big bad pagans.” Gabriel says with a frown, then looks at him thoughtfully. “You might be just what chicka needs though. Let’s see what Odin says about your whole rescue before we bring her up there though. So, when you wanna head home, speaking of.” He asks, turning to Ashley. “I’m sure your pack of teens are worried sick, and we did kinda leave them with the giant brothers grimm.”

“I want to wait until Thor and Loki head back to Asgard, then I’ll be good to go home.” She explains. “Eh, no angel airway though…Tony offered to fly me back, and I want to talk to him about something, anyway. It might be the instant travel you’re used to, but it’s a lot more comfy, and less chance of getting sick afterwards.”

“No worries, I can appreciate a good slow flight myself sometimes.”

“Miss Roeswood, I thought a warning that Mister Stark and the rest of the guests have awoken, smelling your muffins, and are making their way towards your location. Mister Odinson seems particularly excited about the prospect of sweets.”

Ashley sighs good naturedly, knowing their discussion will likely be ending for now. Thanks for the warning Jarvis, I know to expect an over exited puppy now. Will Tony need coffee or anything?”

“No need, Mister Stark has me connected to it and I’ve already started the process.” And as they look, the coffee machine does indeed whir to life, water boiling in the top and soaking the grounds.

“While you feed the hungry super masses, I’m going to borrow ole Loki here for a little chat.” Gabriel says with an innocent smile no one there trusts, but as he sees his brother round the corner Loki does indeed follow him off to the side, ignoring the loud exclamation of joy Thor gives out at the baked goods. Turning he faces the diminutive archangel with his arms crossed in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

“Chillax Loke a doke, I’m not here to play the blame game or anything, I just wanna talk.”

“So you don’t plan on telling me how I will burn eternally if I keep talking to your little female friend? Considering the looks your brother threw my way whenever he realized I was still in the same room, it would greatly surprise me.”

“Oh, don’t mind Luce, he has an eternity of issues to work out still, and explode the pagan used to be his favorite game, even if it wasn’t ever the real thing. Besides, me tell you off? On the contrary, I used to pretend to be you with a group of over powered shape shifters! They still know me only as the Trickster in some places! You’re like my brother from another mother! And father! Ok, and world, but still!”

Loki stares at him for a time, wondering if he’s playing a joke. “Are…are you being serious?”

“Completely, and that’s a rare occurrence for me. Ask me some time about my relationship with Kali.” Gabriel responds, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

“I…would rather not. If you’re not her to threaten me, what did you need to speak with me of?”

“Oh yea, sorry. You said they might be able to help her on Asgard. Do you really think they could? Like I said, magic and grace doesn’t always mesh well, she’s extremely lucky the whole alpha thing works right at all. I’d rather not watch them tear her apart if I can help it.”

“I believe so, but I’ll have to ask mother to make sure. She helped me, after all, and I’m a completely different species than she is, though I didn’t know it at the time. It would hurt nothing to ask.”

“Oh good.” Gabriel says with visible relief in his posture. “Raph said you guys were experts when it came to healing, and since Luce obviously would have a hard time asking for help, I decided I might as well bite the bullet while he’s gone and ask myself.”

“Yes, but you would need to get her on Asgard first. Also, you and your angry brother wouldn’t be allowed, which means you’d have to trust her with me.”

“Oh, I’ll be able to convince him it’s for the best, especially if she keeps having these little spells. Considering her luck, it’ll happen.”

“If she keeps trying to help creatures like me, I have no doubt of that.” Loki says dryly, before his eyes narrow, a thought coming to him. “You said healing like the power flux wasn’t the only issue. Is there something else she needs healing for?”

Gabriel goes white for a second, wincing at the little slip. “Ehh, you caught that huh. Well, truth be told, there’s a little problem we haven’t told her about yet.” He glances over at the group surrounding her, taking up all her attention as she passes out muffins to the hungry crowd, a big smile on her face.

“And what would that be?” Gabriel glances back at him, and Loki raises an eyebrow. “I can’t help if I don’t know the problem that ails her, angel, and she’ll have to be told eventually.”

The look in Gabriels eyes surprises him, the mix of guilt and sorrow that just looks wrong on him. “I know that you’re right, just hard to share, that’s all. She’s got some sort of block on a selected part of her memories. It can’t be Gwaines death because she still remembers that, as much as I wish it was. We have no idea what it could be, though, because she sort of summoned a doppelganger to replace her unconsciously for three days that stayed in a coma the entire time, and when she traded back she had no idea what had happened. Raph says that block is cracking too, and can cause her major problems as or if it widens.”

“It’s just a never ending stream of problems for her, isn’t it?” Loki asks, and Gabriel nods glumly. “Fear not, I can ask about that as well, though I do suggest informing her about it before it’s too late. Anything else?” Gabriel shakes his head, but Loki wasn’t the god of Lies for nothing and could tell he was holding back. However, he decided to let it go for now so they could focus on the more immediate problems. “Fine. As soon as I can, I will speak to the All Father about bringing her up for a visit. If I might ask, what makes you feel so close to her, you and your brother? I know my reason, she saved me from the Other and stopped me from taking over this world for him, but what is yours?”

“Well, for Luce, it started off as her catching his interest and making him question his plan to destroy humanity for the first time in, well, ever. From there it evolved to her being the reason he was brought back into the fold as an archangel, the basically just being his friend. He’d never really had a friend before, other than family, and he treasures that.”

“And you?”

“Ahhhh my story. Well, she met me during a prank on a pair of way too tall hunter brothers meant to kickstart the apocalypse, and rather than get her involved, I sent her to my pad so we could drink beer and watch them on tv. I got attached to the kid, she guessed who I really was, she stopped Luce from killing me, and from there history was made.” His face goes serious for a moment, and once again Loki internally comments on how strange it looks on him. “She’s…she’s like family to me now, ya know? To me and Luce both. She treats both of us like that, and even though she knows we could do all these amazing things to make her life easier, she rarely asks us for anything unless it has to do with keeping the pack safe, which to her might as well be family as well. Heck the last time she asked for something for herself, it was just to hone her reflexes a bit in case she needed to fight again.” He smiles at last, a bit wistfully, at that, then looks dead on at the listening god. “You’ll see it soon, if you haven’t already. Now that you’re pack, you’re family, and dad forbid anyone who goes after her family.”

“I think she was like that before I even joined her pack.” Loki throws in quietly. “When we first met, I was about to rip out a mans eye in front of a large crowd, and she simply said that if it was something I needed to do, she wouldn’t stop me. I think the Other could sense her influence even then, as I had to hold it back several times around her. Is she always like that around dangerous beings?”

“Soooooo often.” Gabriel drawls. “She’s convinced anyone can be redeemed, and her cousin calls her the bad guy whisperer. She argues that Luce wouldn’t be here if she didn’t believe that, but her last love interest/ charity case wants to murder a member of her pack, and she just found out, so maybe that will make her a bit more wary. She is good at it though.”

“I shall strive to keep an eye on her, then, once she makes it to Asgard.” Loki promises. “I owe it, after all, and I always pay my debts.”

“Call it whatever you want.” Gabriel says with a smirk. “She’s already starting to grow on you, I can tell.”

Loki opens his mouth to respond, but before he can Thor bounds up to him, face smeared with a tiny bit of chocolate from the muffins. “Brother, have you tried the tiny cakes that the Lady Ashley has made? They are glorious, and she has promised to send a basket of them back to Asgard with us!”

“You have to stop eating them first, you oaf, or else there’ll be none left.” Loki retorts, but the smile never leaves his brothers face. “Yes, Thor, I have tried them, and promised to take one to mother, would you please let me go now?” Thor does, and Loki makes as if to wipe invisible dirt off of his outfit. “Thank you. Now, when do we need to leave for Asgard? The sooner the better, so we might hide the tesseract once more.”

Thor straightens out. “We can leave as soon as you’re ready. We just need to find a good point to open the gate. Should we inform SHIELD of our departure?”

“Nahhh, they can find out after it happens, that way they can’t try and stop it.” Tony interrupts, large glass of coffee in his hands as he walks up. “You already planning on leaving us puny mortals? There’s so much I haven’t introduced to you yet! Like Star Wars!”

“Alas friend Tony, my brother is right.” Thor says regretfully. “We must get the tesseract on Asgard, and inform Odin of the Other that that had a hold on my brothers mind, see if he has any idea of who it actually is. Hopefully once that happens, we might return for a longer and more peaceful period of time.”

“Well, I suppose if you must, we could always take you to the park or something, it’s got a wide open area you could open up your portal thing in. That work for you?”

“Indeed friend Tony, that would be wonderful!” Thor booms. “Let us go to this park immediately!”

***************( )******************

It’s not exactly immediate, but an hour later sees the entire group in the fountain area of the closest park, Loki and Thor saying goodbyes to everyone. Loki had managed to get the basket away from Thor after he kept trying to sneak muffins out of it the ride over, letting him hold the tesseract instead, now housed in a box much like the one that held the scepter and provided by Gabriel after explaining that the energy signature needed to be hidden from prying eyes.

The scepter, unfortunately, was being held by SHIELD, and they were unlikely to give it back considering how Fury had been booted out of the tower last time he demanded to talk to Ashley. Hopefully they were wise enough to not mess with it, and keep in the box. Natasha promised to talk to Fury about it once she made it back to him, so that was something.

Ashley mainly stayed out of the way, letting everyone else say what they needed while she sat at the edge of the fountain, noticing how empty the park was due to everyone still being scared from the Chitari invasion, and hopes they can all go back to their regular lives soon. She feels a presence next to her, and looks up to see Loki standing there, unreadable look on his face. “We’re about to leave…are you ok?”

“Yea, I’m good.” She says, standing and walking with him towards the rest of the group. “Just hoping all the people here can go back to their regular lives pretty soon. A park just doesn’t seem right when it’s empty in the middle of the day.”

He looks around, noticing the same. “Yes, well. Perhaps you convince Stark to help with the relief efforts. He certainly seems to have enough money that it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Pepper has that taken care of already, thank goodness. Nothing says good PR like Stark Industries seen helping clean up the city. Apparently it goes well with the little girl calling us her guardian angels.”

“You know she was mainly speaking of you.”

“Nah, could have been any one of us. We all helped save them.”

“But you were in closest proximity.” He says as they stop next to Thor, and he turns to her. “You personally kept them safe from the Chitari, don’t forget that. Now, time can run a little differently in Asgard, so if you don’t hear back from me, don’t fret. We just have several orders of business to take care of, that’s all.”

“All right.” She says with a brief nod. “If it takes longer than..ohh, a year, though, I’m sending Gabe after you. Deal?” She puts out her hand, and after a moment of consideration he takes it, a smirk on his lips.

“It is a deal.”

As she watches he and Thor leave their planet, she hopes that it doesn’t have to come to that.

***************( )*************

“Ok. You think I should what, now? And why? Not that I don’t spending money, mind you, far from it, but every once in a while I like to give Pepper a logical reason for it. So woo me to your way of thinking.”

“If you insist.” Ashley says with a grin. Not long after the Asgardians had left, everyone else had followed suit as well, heading in their respective directions after Tony made sure they all had a way to contact one another. The only person who had stuck with them was Bruce, who planned on staying with Tony for a while as he had been offered a safe haven in the tower, free from both SHIELD and the US military. As well, he had went over a few meditation techniques with her before she boarded Tonys private jet, suggesting a couple of teas to try along with them. “I think that you, as a superhero genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, should be a sponsor for Sam and Dean.”

“Ok, we have the what, now gimmie the why.” Tony leans back in his plush seat, sipping on his drink as he awaits her answer.

“Well, for one, since we kinda barged in on your life, you’ve been getting really interested in the supernatural. If you were their sponsor, you would have a perfect fount of information to draw from, so you could come up with new toys for them to use for both defense and offense. You would have your own personal force of monster hunters, if you can call two guys, maybe three, a force. On their end, instead of having to scrounge around for money so they can stay in really cheap motels, and buy food if they’re lucky, they’ll have a sponsor making sure they stay fed, clothed and out of the weather by offering them a paycheck for once, as well as a spending budget. Not only that, but I’ve looked it up, and I’m pretty sure you could get them certified as a private security and task force, and they wouldn’t have to have fake badges to get in to all their cases. And they’d get special toys to make their hunts easier. How does that sound? Have I successfully pleaded my case yet?”

He stays silent for a bit, pretending to think it, but she can see the twinkle in his eye saying she’s got him hooked. “Hell, why not? I can finally say I’m doing something productive with my money, and It sounds like they could honestly use the help. Who would be the third, exactly?”

“His name is Bobby, Bobby Singer. He’s their go to guy for information they can’t find in a computer, and he was quite a hunter himself in the old days. They won’t say it out loud, but he’s kind of a father figure to them as well. He’s the one I told you about with the super protected basement.”

“I could definitely see myself paying him, if he could build me a room like that.” Tony says thoughtfully. “And you say the Winchesters are subbing for you where we’re going?”

“Yea, I hope the pack…or class for that matter hasn’t been too much trouble for them. Though if I’m lucky, they’ve learned a bit from them. We had planned to start fight training before I ended up in Germany.” 

“Eh, they can handle it.” Tony says dismissively, finishing off his drink. “If they couldn’t, they wouldn’t be worth my time or money. Think they’ll let me make some modifications to the impala this time?”

“I think Dean would rather eat his own gun than let you touch his baby.”

“He’s no fun. I just wanna tinker with her insides a bit. Maybe add on a couple of things.”

“Yeaaa no. It belonged to his dad, and it has sentimental value to him.”

“All right, if you say so. Everything else is free game though, so they better get used to it.”

“You haven’t actually talked to them about it, you know. They still need to say yes.”

“Why wouldn’t they? I’m offering to pay them to what they were doing for free. They would have to be idiots to say no.”

“They have been called that a couple of times.” She says thoughtfully, smiling a bit. “Or, to be more precise, idgits. But you’re right, they have no reason to say no. How much longer til we’re there?”

“Bout an hour. We’ll land in their tiny airport, then I have a car waiting to take us where ever we need to go. I even brought an extra suit just in case things are hairy when we land. Haha, hairy. Cuz they’re werewolves, get it? I crack myself up. Oh, and here, the shortest angel had this for you, I promised to give it back. It’s dead right now, so just plug it in next to you so it can charge.” With that, Tony hands her her Starkphone, and she plugs it in like he says, not believing she had forgotten about it this entire time. She would probably have, like, a million messages when she turned it back on. Dreading that, she just plugs it in for now and leaves it alone to charge.

“Thanks, I had honestly forgotten about it. When we make it to Beacon Hills, I’ll turn it back on and find out where everyone is. For now, I’d rather just ignore the mass messages waiting for me.”

“Good idea, people tend to freak out when you disappear.” Tony says, tapping something into his own phone then putting it away, looking back at her with a curious expression. “If you don’t mind, I actually do have a couple of questions for you while we’re here. About something you had mentioned to me earlier, in fact.”

“Sure.” She says, settling back into her seat and giving him her full attention. “Not like we can do anything else while we wait. What’s up?”

“That kid the Winchesters dropped off with you, Arthur I think his name was. Does that kinda thing happen often? Supernatural kids orphaned, or normal kids orphaned by supernaturals?”

She blinks at him, surprised. “More often than I really like. Supernatural wise, sometimes hunters will run across a family trying to fit in, and instead of double checking the situation, they just go right in and murder them because they’re supes, not caring if they’re innocent or not. In that kinda situation, the family will try and get any children out before they can be killed along with them, or the hunters will leave them alone if they’re asleep and look perfectly normal. Some of the bad ones, however get a kick out of turning children, or impregnating women only to murder them and take the child when it’s born. Then there’s the ones that murder a childs family and leave them be, or the hunter makes it in time to save the child but not the parents. Sam and Dean have ran into it more than me, but it does happen. I feel bad for them, really. The supernatural children usually have no one to help them learn to fit in or adapt, and the normal children will be considered too scarred to be adopted half the time.”

“Don’t the hunters ever try and help?”

“Most of them stay on the move, and wouldn’t have time to give the children the attention they would really need. They usually don’t care enough about the supernatural children to try, even the ones that turned back after their turner was killed. They see them as not deserving, or broken.”

“And the Winchesters? Do they feel that way?”

“No.” She says with a sad smile. “There the good type. They try and help children whenever they can, and have even convinced one boy, Jesse, that just because he’s half demon, he doesn’t have to be evil. They used to be a little trigger happy, but never around children if they could help it.”

“Hmmm. So you think that even though they’re a type of supernatural creature, or used to be, they deserve a chance to fit in and be happy, right?”

“Well, yea. Have you forgotten I lead a pack that’s part supernatural? They didn’t choose it, they were all either born or turned. Well, except for poor Isaac, he was a victim of child abuse by his scum of a father, and thought being a wolf would help give him the confidence to stand up to him. They’re my responsibility now, and I will do my best to keep them safe.”

“Good.” Tony says with a grin, showing teeth. “Because I have another project in mind, and I’d like you to be a big part of it. An old friend of my fathers, Charles Xavier, has a school in North Salem where he trains people with unique abilities, aka mutants, to learn to use them, and even has his own superhero team, the X-men.”

“I’ve heard of them. They don’t take in supernaturals, though, do they? I thought it was mutants only.”

“What? Yea, but that wasn’t my idea. No, I want to build a home for all of those orphans you mentioned, the supernaturals and humans alike. I can provide psychologists to help the children scarred by losing their families, and then make sure they’re adopted by loving ones who will make sure that they’re never unhappy again. The supernatural ones we can try and teach them adapt to the outside world, and keep them protected from the hunters that might come after them. I might even be able to come up with a way to make their lives more comfortable, and if we can’t get them adopted out afterward, they can stay there until they’re old enough to go out on their own with a full wallet and a recommendation from Stark Industries, or they can stay on and help take care of the others, that way they’ll have a safe place to stay.” Tony frowns, a dark light in his eyes. “I won’t be like my father. The children in my orphanage will want for nothing, they’ll never be malnourished, beaten or abandoned to die.”

“It sounds like quite a place, Tony.” Ashley says gently, bringing his attention back to her. “One I’d be glad to help with if you want it.”

“I’m glad you think so. Because I’d like to build it in Beacon Hills, and have you in charge of it.”


	8. Many Happyish Returns

“You want me to what?” She manages to finally splutter out after staring at the superhero in shock after what seems to be forever. He doesn’t say a word, but stares back with a slowly growing smirk at the sight of the young woman completely thrown off balance. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear you right…did you slip me something? Because I could have sworn I just heard you say that you want to put a supernatural childrens home in Beacon Hills and put me in charge. Which is a pretty funny joke, considering I have no experience running anything, and you want to put it in the middle of a big supernatural gathering point.”

“No, you heard me right.” Tony says, standing up and moving to the seat right next to her as she continues to gape at him. “You’re the one who gave me the idea in the first place, remember? I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and it was during a conversation with Xavier that it just clicked that maybe you guys run into kids that need help, kids that can’t go anywhere else, kids that might be just a little bit special. Not mutant special, but special none the less. And you know what, I’ll take in mutants too if I need to. But it cemented the idea when you mentioned how you were trying to teach your little pack control, so they don’t turn in public, and that you were watching that shape shifter orphan, the one that explodes every time it changes.”

“He doesn’t anymore.” Ashley says weakly. “He kinda just sheds his skin now, but he can change eye color without making a bloody mess.”

“And that’s what I’m talking about! You and creepy uncle wolf worked with him so he could do that, and that was only in a matter of days! And you say you have no experience? You’re already in charge of a group of teens that fit the bill, you have a veritable goldmine of experts to get advice from, and you’ll have me as your patron to make sure you have everything that you could possible need. I’ve even designed a building already, complete with my own personal security system, large spacious above and below ground floors, integrated JARVIS, panic room I’ll have your friend Bobby help me make, garage big enough for three cars and a couple of bikes, yard and woods for running around, a place for the Winchesters to crash at when they need a break, plenty of bedrooms…I’m still working on it, but I’m gonna head to the X-Mansion and get some more ideas. Oh, and it’s a huuuge tax exemption, but I could honestly care less. Come on, Angel, Pepper will handle all the little bill and minute details that she does with all my other crap, it’ll give your pack a good place to go for training and recovery, you can choose all the employees and psychiatrists yourself, you can know you’re helping kids who really need it….not to mention that between me and your angel buddies, it’ll be the most protected place on your half of the US. And I’ll have an excuse to pay you and give you fun goodies without adopting you, since you’re apparently too old for it not to be frowned upon and looked on as some sorta weird sex thing.”

She blinks at him slowly, all of his arguments finally sinking in, other than the weird sex thing. She then sighs loudly, admitting defeat. “I guess I could ask Crowley to put wards around a piece of land like he did the house. Have you even found a plot yet? Or told Pepper about it for that matter, since you’re volunteering her to do all that work?”

Tony grins widely as he sees her going into serious consideration mode, knowing he’s won her over. “Of course I have, she thought putting you in charge was a great idea, especially after the great PR you got us after saving that group of kids. Not yet, but hopefully soon. There’s a perfect piece of land in the woods bordering Beacon Hills, out of the way with plenty of room for everything I plan on putting in, but it belongs to someone and I haven’t been able to contact them yet. Do you know who the Hales are?”

She gapes at him yet again. “The land you want to buy belongs to the Hales?”

“Yea, you know them then?”

“You could say that. Peter Hale is the creepy uncle wolf as you put it, and Derek Hale is his nephew. The land you want to buy is where their family home was burnt down, with the family still in it.”

Tony goes pale. “Oh…well, crap. I didn’t know. This could be a good way to get rid of those bad memories, though, and create some good ones. Do you think you could talk to him about it for me? I would pay him very well for it, and he might even be a good choice for security around the land. He’d have his own little place next to the house and everything.”

“I could try. Last time I saw him we weren’t on too good of terms, but things have happened since then. It would be good to put the land to better use, though, and with everything that happens in town a safe house isn’t a bad idea.”

“See! It’s not the most horrible idea in the world, is it? And it’s not like you’d have to spend every waking moment there, I’d like to have you come to the tower more often, and we still need to have our movie marathon.”

“That we do.” She agrees, finally smiling. “Mister Stark, you make a very compelling argument. I would almost accuse you of being a demon if I didn’t know better.”

“It’s just my natural charisma, runs in the family.”

“And there goes that big head again. You’re not gonna make me regret this, are you? I keep thinking of all the pros and cons that could go along with letting you be my employer, and the fact you want to start a literal monster childrens home.”

“Please, I’m a great employer! I even took the initiative and did you a big favor that you’ll love me forever for!”

She eyes him warily. “Tony…what did you do?”

“Nothing bad, scouts honor! Well, nothing bad for you, bad for SHIELD on the other hand….that’s a different story. I kinda went in and deleted all of the files on you and your buddies right before we left, and told J to block all of Pirate Fury’s calls for a while afterward.”

“They had files on us? What the hell? Thank you, by the way.”

“No problem, figured you didn’t want to stay in their sights. I’ll try to keep an eye on their servers in case they try and make another one. The last thing you need is them invading your quiet little monster town and seeing all the furry little problems as a challenge.”

“Yea, I’d be forced to ask for a little divine help if that happened, and nobody wants that.” She leans back heavily in her seat and closes her eyes. “I just hope they’re all doing ok. They don’t always make the best decisions when I’m gone.”

“That’s just a teenager thing. We’ll be there in a bit, don’t worry so much.” She doesn’t answer, but instead nods silently and looks out the window, watching the clouds go by as they edge closer to their destination, and the mess waiting for her.

**************( )***************

When they start preparing to land, Ashley finally turns the Starkphone back on, meaning to text Stiles and find out where he is, let him know she’s finally home, but to her surprise his phone is off. Frowning she tries to get a hold of Scott too, then Allison, but their phones seem to be off as well. Finally she gets a hold of her Uncle, knowing his phone will be on as he has to use it for work, and gets a hell of a surprise, one that she looks out the window and confirms as they start landing.

All the power in town was off, except for the few places that had backup generators.

Apparantly there had been a massive explosion at the power plant, resulting in a man being shocked to death. An explosion that part of her pack had happened to be present for, and had been questioned about by none other than Scotts dad. She had groaned loudly when he told her that, getting a curious look from Tony, though she had chuckled a bit when she heard how he just sat back and stayed silent while the teens tried to explain themselves, glad someone else was in his shoes for once. Unfortunately he didn’t know where Stiles was as he was busy with the power plant murder investigation, but he said Lydia might, before hanging up. There was also a bit about being glad to hear back from her and knowing she was ok, but emotions were never his strong suit so it was over with quickly.

After passing on what happened to Tony, with a loud ‘I told you so’ about the teens getting in trouble, she crossed her fingers and dialed Lydia’s number, hoping for the best, as the girl usually had an extra portable charger just in case her phone went dead. She’s lucky this time, however, and the phone rings a couple of times before being answered. *Hello?*

*Lydia! Thank goodness, everyone elses phones seem to be dead! Are you with the others?*

*I am, where have you been? We tried to get a hold of your stupid angels and call your phone but no one would answer.*

*Eh, didn’t have my phone, Germany and New York, and I’ll beat them verbally later for it, sorry bout that. I’m back in town now though, where is everyone?*

*Germany!? Why…you know what, never mind for now, I’m sure you’ll tell us all later. Right now, you mind coming to Dereks loft? We’re all here, and there’s something weird going on all around, I can feel it.*

*Anything to do with the exploded power plant? Oh, and all the loud, pounding music I hear in the background?*

*I admit to nothing, just get over here quickly please.*

*Yea yea, be there soon as we can.* She hangs up and looks over to Tony. “Mind if we head to Dereks loft? Apparently my pack’s there, and something weird is going on. Usually, with their luck that ends up meaning violence.”

“Yea, no problem. Will it be a big enough problem for me to need to suit up? I brought it with me.”

“Eh…is it in the briefcase? Bring it just in case, that way you can get it on if you need to.” She tells the driver the address, then sits back heavily as she tries to think of why the hell Derek would have techno music blasting from his loft. Maybe some sort of training exercise? Movie playing in the background?

********( )***********

“Hooooly Fuck.”

Turns out both of her guesses were very, very wrong, something she gathered the moment she slid open the doors and spied all of the half naked teenage bodies dancing in black light, highlighter, techno nightmare, both her and Tony gaping at the sight. “So……this looks like fun.” Tony comments idly, and she shoots him a glare.

“They’re all teenagers, Tony.”

“Yea I know, don’t get your panties in a twist. It still looks fun though, and honestly like something I’ve done several times in college. And last year.”

“Yea, well, it’s also something I’m pretty fucking sure Derek didn’t agree to in the slightest. Where the hell is he?”

“Hiding from all the gyrating teenager? Hiking a leg next to a tree? Scaring small children?”

She rolls her eyes and quickly sends Lydia a text to find out where she is, eyes widening when the return text comes from Aiden instead of Lydia, saying they found her passed out on the balcony. Ashley rushes towards the balcony door, Tony hot on her heels when he sees her rushing off, opening it to see Danny cradling Lydia is his arms, while Aiden seems to be looking behind her ear with a frown. “Is she ok?” Ashley asks as she drops to her knees next to them, checking her pulse and sighing in relief when the pulse seems strong. “What happened?”

“I’m not sure.” Aiden says, looking at her with worry all over his face, tinted by black light paint. “We had came out here to…uh…be alone for a bit, and saw her lying on the ground like this. And she has a number tattooed behind her ear, its still warm.”

Ashley frowns and moves around, looking behind the girls ear, and sure enough a dark number is there, still warm as if it was put there not minutes ago. “When I called, she had asked me to get here as soon as I could, because she felt something off going on. Do you know what she was talking about?”

“No.” He replies as they all raise up, the boys eyeing Tony curiously as he hangs out in the back. “If I did I’d tell you. Um…who’s he?”

“Oh, that’s just Tony, he was my ride.”

“Just your ride? I’m hurt, Angel, and after I planned on being your employer.” Tony says, mocking disappointment, and walks up to the boys with a large grin. “Tony Stark, genius, super hero and major enabler for enjoying yourself while you can. Does she need a doctor? Because I have a car waiting downstairs that can take us.”

“Let’s see if she wakes up first and go from there.” Ashley says while Danny chokes on air after hearing Tony’s name. “I’d rather not take her if I have to, too many questions.”

“Tony Stark? THE Tony Stark? Of Stark Industries, Iron Man, that Tony Stark? I did a research paper on your rise to infamy, I was going to apply for one of your internships when I got out of High school!” Danny breathes, looking at him with reverence while Ashley rolls her eyes. Tony, however, takes it much as you can expect.

“Really? Well if you’re one of Angels little teens you have a very good chance, send me an e-mail and I’ll get back to ya.”

While Danny can’t find words to proclaim his happiness, Ashley interrupts before Tony can keep on. “Come on, I wanna find everyone else and make sure they’re ok. And why the hell are you having a rave in Dereks loft? He’s gonna murder you all.”

Danny carries Lydia as they walk back inside to the sea of glowing bodies, the Dj table to their right. “Yea…that’s my fault.” Aiden admits sheepishly. “Danny’s party got cancelled, and I wanted to keep him from being upset, so I kind of volunteered the loft.” Ashley rolls her eyes, though secretly pleased that he’ll go to such a length to make the teen happy, and follows them as they walk over to a couch, Danny setting Lydia in it to wait and see when she’ll wake up.

“Much as I can appreciate that, it doesn’t change the fact he’ll be pissed. I swear, I’m not around you guys for a week and this kinda stuff ends up happening.” She says, shaking her head at the boys who both look sheepish, then she thinks of something. “Where the hell is Derek, anyway?”

“Uh, is that large, angry looking man him?” Tony asks, pointing, and Ashley turns to look in the same direction. Sure enough, an extremely angry looking Derek is stalking towards the DJ table with his eyes glowing just the slightest. She cant help but shake her head and chuckle as he flips it over, equipment and all, before roaring for all of them to get out.

“NOW!!!!!” Derek roars out, teeth just slightly starting to elongate as all the teens flee the loft in terror. Danny starts to move as well, but Ashley puts a gentle hand on his shoulder and shakes her head, tilting her head towards the just now starting to wake Lydia. Danny nods in understanding as the others move towards Derek, Scott with a pretty Asian girl, Stiles with highlighter smudged on his lips, and Allison and Isaac supporting a groggy looking Ethen. Ashley starts to stand up straight when all of the teenagers are finally gone, meaning to join her pack, but she goes still as a trio of shadows start to form out towards the doorway, feeling Tony freeze up beside her. Wondering where the hell the Winchesters are, her hand drifts to her ring as the shadows move towards Aiden, and she can hear Tony softly opening up the suitcase containing his suit.

Before either can jump in, however, Scott and Derek both jump at the shadows, meaning to fight them and get them away from Aiden, only for their strikes to pass straight through them as if they were ghosts. Ashley moves around to get a closer look at the shadow people, and notices that they seem to be wearing masks that look like grinning demons, their eyes glowing a pale yellow that are the only bright thing about them. As Derek and Scott go to attack them again, they’re both knocked against the wall by an invisible force, and the demon shadow grabs Aiden and forces his head down, putting a finger behind his ear much the way that Lucifer did when giving her part of his grace, then steps back as Aiden falls to the floor.

Done with Aiden, they turn as one towards the rest of the group, and Ashley feels panic as she realizes they’re planning on doing that to her entire pack. Starting to move forward, ring already switching forms, she feels a rush of air as well as a loud blast beside her, and suddenly there is a large hole in the wall beside the shadow demons from the Iron Man blaster. Everyone turns as one to look in her direction in confusion, only to turn to relief as they realize who it is. It does, however, turn to confusion again as they notice the man beside her in the partially put together metal suit, the hand smoking slightly. “All right kiddies, playtimes over. Don’t make me separate you with a lot more prejudice, because I will.” Ashley rolls her eyes and throws a look at him. “What? You looked like you wanted to stop them, so I did. And I’ll pay for the hole.”

“Watch out!” Allison cries, and Ashley looks back over to see the shadow demons moving towards her, now. Grimacing she raises her transformed sword, ready to fight, but before she can a ray of sunlight shines through the hole in the loft wall, stopping them in their tracks. The demons all stare at her for a moment before backing up into the shadows, then vanish into thin air.

Ashley closes her eyes in relief, only to jolt them open again as several bodies suddenly rush against her for an enormous hug, her entire pack glad to see her again after so many days of worrying about where she had been this whole time. She looks at them fondly, only catching half of what they’re saying to her as they all see to talk at one. She hears Tony chuckling behind her and vows to pay him back later, then looks towards where Derek was standing and sees him still there, looking at her with what looks like a mix of guilt, relief, shock and anger, though who he was angry at she couldn’t say quite yet. She stares back at him and gives first, looking away, and she hopes she gets a chance to talk to him later. “ All right, back off guys, I’m fine! I won’t be if I can’t breath, though, so back up a bit!” Her pack all lets go and backs away, minus Lydia who’s still recuperating in her seat next to Danny, and the twins who seem to be holding each other up. “Thanks. Why don’t we all sit down? That way we can talk and let those of you who were attacked rest a bit. Plus…I’m pretty sure someone needs to fill Danny in since he saw the whole thing.”

The wolves in the pack, as well as the twins, pale as they realize she’s right, and all start moving towards the area Lydia is, Stiles pausing when he realizes she isn’t following. “Hey, aren’t you coming? I didn’t worry about you all this time for you to not explain things, ya know. Like the guy with the blaster coming out of his hands? What the hell?”

“I’m coming, just wanna make sure Derek comes as well.” She reassures him, giving a soft smile. “The guy with the blaster hand is Tony Stark AKA Iron Man….why don’t you say hi? He already told Danny to email him about an internship, after he gushed his admiration of him. I bet he’d get a kick out of you.”

Stiles gapes at her. “Iron Man? Where were you that you came back with Iron Man?”

“I’ll tell everyone in a minute, now shoo.” Stiles nods, surging forward and giving her fierce hug before stepping back and heading to the others, half of them already taken in by something Tony is saying. Almost afraid of what he’s telling the easily influenced teens, she turns and walks towards Derek, who had turned away while she was talking to the pack and seemed to be glaring at the mess scattered around his loft. “Pretty sure the mess won’t burst into flames, no matter how angrily you stare at it.” She says lightly, frowning when he doesn’t show any sign of hearing her, or at least of paying attention. Narrowing her eyes she walks up right next to him and pokes him in the arm, noticing how he stiffens at her touch. “Hey, look at me grumpy wolf, please? It should only be the teenagers I have to worry about being pouty, not you, and I swear if you go back to being emotionally constipated I’m gonna keep kicking you until you stop. Besides, you owe me a prize still for finding you in hide and seek.”

Derek clenches his fists at his sides, finally breaking his silence. “How can you stand talking to me again after what I did?”

“Hey, everyone makes mistakes when their hormones kick in, it’s part of being a sexually deprived adult, no worries. Tony’s like, the poster child for that.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He says gruffly. “I called you a traitor, ignored you for weeks…and yes, fucked the Darach, even though I didn’t know it at the time.”

“Lots of angry fucking, from what I was told.”

He grinds his teeth, closing his eyes as if to block out the memories. “That it was. I let my emotions control me, and maybe if I hadn’t, I could have been there to stop her from killing Gwaine…been able to stop Boyd from being killed…I failed in every possible way, as an alpha, and as your friend. Hell, I’m not even an alpha now and I’m still failing, and Cora left town so she wouldn’t be in as much danger so often. I should have let Scott slash Peters throat in the first place so he could go back to being normal again.”

Her face soften considerably as he speaks. “Hey now…” She says, placing a hand on his arm and gently putting pressure on it, causing his body to turn more towards her. “Do not blame yourself, you hear me? Gwaine dying isn’t your fault, and neither is Boyd. That blame goes to Kali and the Darach bitch, no one else. And I knew you’d be upset with me for making that truce, I thought it was an ok sacrifice to making sure no one else died on either side, as well as that worked. I didn’t like it, but it needed to be done. Now, I will say I wish you hadn’t chose that bitch after I told you something seemed off about her, but bad fucks happen.” Her face darkens, taking on a sad tone. “Like Peter for example. I wanted to believe he had changed so much, but the stupid wards don’t lie. I slept with someone who wants to kill a member of my pack, and ignored warning about getting too close because I wanted to think he’d changed. So we’re both dumb.”

He finally looks fully at her, eyes not quite as angry anymore. “In you defense, he’s good at talking people into what he wants. And, I’m pretty sure he does really like you, he just really likes himself as well. And his wolf might still see you as a possible mate, so you might wanna be careful around him.”

“I will.” She says somberly, before looking up at him. “So, are we good? No more being pissy? Because I miss my scruffy, grumpy friend, and will probably need help with this alpha thing, considering I’ve been told making my pack bigger will be better for my health. And I kinda need to get to them before Tony ropes them into being Guinea pigs for him.”

Derek laughs, the first laugh he’s probably let out in a long time, and she feels a weight lifting from her chest. “Yea, friends again is ok with me. Someones gotta be a buffer between you and Peter you after all.” He holds out a hand, meaning for her to shake it, but taking a cue from her pack she grins before wrapping her arms around his torso for a hug. He stiffens for a moment, eyes wide, before relaxing into it and putting his arms around her as well. They stay like that for a couple of seconds before she pulls back and looks up at him, smile on her face.

“Come on, they’re waiting for us, and I promised an explanation for what happened, where I’ve been, and Stiles won’t wait much longer, even with Tony distracting everyone.”

“I’ll admit, I’m pretty curious myself.” Derek says as they turn and start walking to the others. “Is Tony the guy who blasted a hole in my loft?”

“Yea, but he’ll pay to get it fixed, plus some.” She says brightly. “And boy, does he have an offer for you.”

**********( )***********

Tony had done a pretty good job of distracting everyone while she took the chance to smooth things over with Derek, enough so that no one even bothered to spy on them while they had their little moment, which she had to admit she was pretty grateful for. The twins, Lydia and Danny all had taken over the couch, while everyone else sat in the other random furniture usually scattered about, now moved together in a weird half circle, Tony being the only one standing as he tells his story to the enthralled audience.

Unfortunately, the story he had chosen to tell was what happened in New York while she was there, and as much as she would have liked to, she couldn’t stop him in the middle of it as every time she tried, one of the teens would absentmindedly shush her and Tony would grin and continue. Derek smiled at her quiet sigh of defeat, before going off to the far side of the loft, picking up a loveseat and setting it down gently next to her so she could sit as well, sitting down beside her before turning his attention to the story as well.

Ashley paid little attention to the story, considering she had lived it, just enough to break in when he embellished things and to fill in any blanks he had. You could tell the group was paying close attention, as not even Stiles interrupted to ask questions and that basically never happened, not even in school, and it went a long was that not a one of them questioned the existence of extradimensional aliens, gods from another planet, or their alpha making friends with yet another psychopath. Not even Danny, who hadn’t really been part of their group till now, but she supposed living in Beacon Hills did that too you.

Tony was a better storyteller than she was, though, so she decided to let him explain things as much as he wanted, then would jump in once done to explain why exactly it happened to her, the best that she could, then expected them to explain what exactly had happened in retrospect here while she was gone. Perhaps then she could find out who the girl holding Scotts hand was, and why they trusted her enough to let her stay for what was essentially a pack and pack friends meeting.

Kira, she finally learned when the teens took their turn. Her name was Kira, her dad was the new teacher at their high school, and somehow she had absorbed all of the electricity when the power plant explosion happened. Not only that, but Peter and Derek had been kidnapped by Mexican hunters, then rescued by a mercenary Deucalion had hired to find them, and the gang rescued a girl that had been in her shifted coyote form since she was a little girl by having Scott roar at her. So basically a whole lotta shit had gone down in a week of her being gone, as usual.

She let everyone get their questions out of the way once story time was over, ranging from why she had warped there in the first place ( Stiles’s words, not hers), was that kind of stuff going to keep happening to her, was there a way for her to control it, how she met Tony in the first place, and could the Chitari come back. She answered them all, the ones about herself with some reluctance, and considering their reactions she was right to feel that way. Tony once again took over when telling the story of their initial meeting, and as soon as he finished….

“Ok, my turn for a question.” She said before any of the teen could break in. “I know Gabe said that Sam and Dean had stayed here to keep an eye on things, take over my class, while I was gone. Where are they?”

“We’re here.” A voice behind them says, and Ashley turns to see Sam and Dean standing in the door, wearing their FBI get up. They walk towards the group, both looking tired, and stop next to Ashleys seat. “Welcome back to your little slice of supernatural wildlife resort.” Dean says, causing Derek to roll his eyes. “Why you wanna live here I’ll never understand, and teaching a music class? None of those kids understand what good music is.”

“That’s because all you want to play is 80’s and 90’s hair bands.” Lydia says dryly from her spot next to Ethen. “Some of us have better taste than that.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with the classics!”

“We were following your Dad.” Sam replies before the two can start a full on argument, then looks at Ashley. “He’s been causing nothing but grief for everyone since he got here, your uncle in particular, and we’ve been trying to do some damage control before there guys get even more involved.”

“By the way, your dad has a pretty cute picture of you on his laptop.” Dean says to Scott. “You’re all little and innocent and not a wolf.”

“Uhh….thanks?”

“What were you doing on his laptop?” Ashley asks, afraid to really know.

“Well, seems the guy who died took some pictures of the electro girl before he did, and it shows her looking not quite human.” Dean explains. “These guys were gonna break into the police station and delete all the pictures so she wouldn’t be seen that way, risking getting their asses caught in the process.”

“Let me guess, you did instead?” She asks wearily, and they nod their heads in unison. “Don’t think I’m not grateful, but what if you had been caught in their place? He could always call and check to see if you’re the real deal then you’d be screwed.”

“Yea, but we have a lot more experience breaking into places and sneaking around, no matter how good your cousin thinks he is.” Dean says unrepentedly. “And hey, if we get caught we can scram, no problem. These guys can’t. That’s the pro of being expendable, you should remember that from when you traveled with us.”

“Yea, but I never saw you as expendable.” She argues.

Dean shrugs. “Either way, the pictures are gone and he’s got no proof you’re anything but a regular human.”

“Thank you.” Kira says gratefully from her spot next to Scott. “Considering I thought I was human until then, that’s a relief.”

“Do you know what you are?” Ashley asks curiously.

Surprisingly, Scott is the one to answer. “I think she’s a fox of some kind. I looked at her with the alpha vision Deucalion taught me to use, and it showed her body surrounded by fire in the outline of a tail and muzzle. Look for yourself, it’s pretty neat!”

Ashley frowns but nods, looking at Kira and concentrating on bringing her alpha out, still not used to it but slowly getting the hang of the little things. Sure enough, she could eventually see a fiery aura around her body, with a tail and muzzle protruding from the areas she didn’t actually have one. Apparently Kira hadn’t expected the change, and gasped when Ashley’s eyes tinged red, looking at her more curiously than ever once she was done. “You’re right, she does look like some kind of fire fox. Any ideas?” The last part is aimed at the Winchesters, who both look thoughtful.

“Hmmm…it almost sounds like a kitsune, but I’d have to ask Bobby to make sure.” Sam says to her, everyone turning to him. Noticing he has an audience, Sam clears his throat and continues. “Eh, Japanese fox spirits, usually for having long lives, magic powers, and supposedly the more tails they have the more powerful they are. They’re usually split into two groups, the zenko or Inari foxes are the good ones, while the yako or nogitsune were usually evil and mischievous.”

“Is there any way to tell which she is?” Derek asks, getting a glare from Scott. “What? It’s a valid question considering she didn’t even know she was one until now, and we have enough troubles here.”

“Usually the nogitsune will cause massive amount of trouble for people, usually amounting in physical harm and chaos. They thrive on that sort of thing, and don’t always mind getting caught if it means causing more trouble. The fact that she wanted the pictures deleted puts more credit to her being an Inari fox instead.”

Derek nods with a stern look on his face, arms crossed as he leans back, satisfied for now. Ashley takes the chance to look over at Tony, noticing he’s been uncharacteristically quiet, and knowing it’s usually a bad thing when that happens. He seems to be absorbing everything like a sponge, and gives her a wink when he notices that she’s watching him. He then stands up, smiling, and she has to stifle a groan. “Well, seems like you need some power then, not even generators last forever after all. Lucky for you I have a very reliable electrician on hand that I texted and told to show up here and fix your little monster town up.”

Everyone eyes him suspiciously. “Not that I’m complaining, but why would you do that? Allison asks, cocking her head at him curiously. “ You don’t owe this town anything, and barely know any of us.”

“Too much money.” Dean coughs into his hand, and Sam elbows him in the gut.

“While that is true, what Deano said, I have an invested interest here, and like to keep my interests close at heart.” Tony says cockily. “Plus I honestly have no reason not to, and life without power and showers suck. So get over it. Oh, and jolly giants, I need to talk to you for a minute if you don’t mind, so come ere.” Sam and Dean share worried glances but follow the genius to the other side of the room, where they start up a spirited discussion with lots of flailing hands.

Ashley grins, knowing the topic of discussion, and turns to the pack. “All right, you all know I’m ok, and those things obviously don’t like the light, so everyone should probably go home now and get some rest, or in Dereks words get the hell out of his home. Stiles, don’t say a word, I need to talk to Derek about something so I’ll be home later. Danny…are you ok with everything you heard and saw? Not gonna freak out when you get home, are you?”

He shakes his head, glancing at Aiden. “No, I had a feeling something was going on, I’ll be ok. If anything I’ll get a hold of Aiden if I need to talk to some. I’m just glad I’m in the loop finally.”

“Good, I figured you’d take this well.” She then stands up. “After everyone gets some rest, why don’t we meet back up? Kira, you might wanna talk to your parents and see if they can tell you anything…try and make it casual, like asking a question for school, in case they don’t know much, or seem confused about the questions. Allison, is your dad in town?”

“Yes, he’s doing some last minute research on those shadow demons, and should be back this afternoon. One of them attacked Isaac at our apartment and he had an idea of what it was.”

“Do you think you could ask him to come as well? He’s already ahead of us if he has an idea of what they are.” Suddenly she stops and groans loudly, causing everyone getting up to leave to look at her strangely. “For cripes sake, I’m back for a couple of hours and already giving everyone orders. This isn’t how I planned things out at all.”

“In your defense you are an alpha now.” Derek reminds her with a smirk. “It’s pretty much ingrained in you, so you might as well get used to it.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She pouts, arms crossed, then looks over at the amused teens and lets out a sigh. “Just, everyone meet at the park tomorrow at….ohhh, I don’t know, 3 tomorrow, all right? I’d like to get this crap over with quickly and get a bit of piece before the next crisis starts.” Everyone agrees, even Danny and Kira, and they all take their leave, Tony and the Winchesters still talking in the corner. They did look more thoughtful in their talking now with less pointing and indignant faces, so that was a plus.

“Soooo….” Derek says, raising an eyebrow at her as she flops back into the loveseat bonelessly. “You wanted to talk to me? Or did you you just say that to get them to leave quicker?”

“It did help, but I actually do need to talk with you about something.” She says, turning in place to face him, folding her legs underneath her. He turns as well, looking curious.

“Is this about Peter? Because I’ll gladly beat him within an inch of his life if you want me to. Believe me, it’ll be major stress relief.”

“No, that’s not it, but thanks anyway. Wait, you said you got kidnapped, right? What happened to Arthur? Is he ok?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine.” Derek assures her. “They did take him when they nabbed us, but they didn’t hurt him, and he didn’t shape shift while with them so they didn’t suspect anything. When we were rescued we found him asleep in a crib upstairs.”

“Oh good.” Ashley says, visibly relieved. “I’d hate it if he was hurt while we were supposed to be protecting him.” She looks up at him, tentative smile on her face. “ He actually is a big reason why I need to talk to you. Not for you to start watching him, but it concerns him.”

“Ok then, what is it?”

“I…need to ask you a question first. Is it better to keep a reminder of a painful past around if it constantly reminds you what happened, or to leave it in the past and try and make something better out of it?”

“Why?”

“Just answer the question.”

He frowns at her as he considers the question. “I suppose if you can make yourself leave the past in the past where it belongs, it’s healthier for you. Just look at Peter, his need to get revenge made him go insane, trapped inside his own head with nothing but his negative thoughts.” His eyes narrow at her as he realizes something. “This has to do with the fire, doesn’t it?”

She nods once at him. “It does. Tony is actually here for a couple of reasons. He wants to sponsor the Winchesters, he brought me home safely…and he wants to buy your land here.”

The last statement makes him freeze in place, shock written all over his face. “He…he wants to buy the Hale land? Why? And why would you even think I might agree to it?”

She puts a hand on his leg as he looks like he’s steadily getting more upset. “Calm down, Derek, breath, your eyes are changing.” Sure enough, his eyes have shifted to the icy blue she’s used to seeing on Peter. “Listen, remember how I asked about turning a bad past into something for the better? Tony and I were talking on the way here, and he wants to build a kind of childrens home on your land, like an orphanage and halfway home in one. But instead of for normal kids, he wants to build it for supernatural kids, and those who have been affected by supernatural attacks. He’s told me some of what he wants to build for it, and it sounds pretty amazing. He wants to have a psychiatrist on site for those having trouble adjusting and who went threw major trauma before being brought over, protection for the home both mystical, physical and electronic, help for those who need help adjusting and adapting to normal society, a well stocked kitchen for all types of needs, plenty of people handpicked to take care of them…Tony wants to make sure they want for nothing. He even said if they don’t get adopted before they’re old enough to go out on their own, he’ll offer them a home there as long as they want it to take care of the others, or send them off with a pocket full of cash and a shining recommendation from Stark Industries to get whatever job they want. He thought your land looked perfect, because it’s isolated enough that no one should randomly come across it, and there’s plenty of room for the kids of a more twitchy nature to run around.”

He stares at her for a couple of minutes, calming down but eyes still wide and disbelieving and blue. “And you believe him? That he wants to build this…home…on my families land?”

“Derek, I’ve seen the plans he’s drawn up so far, and they’re pretty amazing. Not only that but the woman who runs his company, Pepper, has agreed it’s a good idea and is willing to run all the small details to make sure it runs smoothly. This is a real thing, Derek, not just the wild hair of someone with too much money who will abandon it entirely when he gets bored.”

“How do you know that? That he won’t do just that?”

“Because I won’t let him.” At his doubtful expression, she sighs. Might as well tell him everything. “He wants to put me in charge of it. He says he knows I can be trusted to keep their best interests at heart, and it helps I’m already in charge of bunch of…lets say special teenagers. He even said if you take the offer, he’ll offer you a job as head of security of the entire place, and build you your own house on the land, fully equipped with everything you might need and a couple of things you might just want. I could use your help with any shifters that come in, and between the two of us I’m pretty sure we can keep him on task.” She pauses for a moment, letting all that sink in, and she can tell the moment is doesn’t sound that farfetched to him. “What do you say? Wanna help me run a supernatural childrens home? Once it’s done, it’ll be the safest place to go this side of the continent.” 

Derek opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, trying to figure out what to say. “I…has he even given you a number yet?”

“Psh, knowing him he may just give you a blank check and say to write whatever sounds fair.”

He thinks about for a moment, leaning back against the arm of the loveseat as she sees a whole range of emotions cross over his face. After a full minute he gets a curious smile on his face, and he looks up at her with determination. “You know what? Why the hell not. I’m not living there, the only thing we use the land for is training, and it’ll piss Peter off to no end if I sell out under his nose. I have conditions though.”

“Ok, shoot, what would you like?”

“I’ll accept the job and house of my own on the land. I want to be consulted as the home is built, as well as Chris Argent, as both of us likely know more about the supernatural than he does and will know what good all around things to have will be. I want to be consulted on certain hires as well, like my security team and any shifters interviewed.”

She grins widely, glad he’s taking all of this seriously and willing to put his horrible past behind him in order to pave the way for others to be taken care of. “Anything else? Your demands seem pretty tame to be honest. If it helps, he’s already agreed to make the place a safe haven for my pack if anyone attacks them.”

“A doctor on site at all times would be nice. Kids get hurt a lot, after all, and if the pack is attacked it would easier to go to the home than a hospital, and Deaton isn’t always an option.”

“Good point, I didn’t think about that. Anything else, or should we interrupt Tony and tell him to fork over a check? I for one wanna see if I’m right about it being blank.”

“Yes, one more thing, not related to the home though.” He says with a serious expression, and takes her hand, much to her surprise, turning his over and placing hers over it. “Make me a member of your pack. I didn’t do too well as an alpha, and would rather follow you than live life out as an omega with no purpose, slowly going feral and insane. You already have the respect of your pack, and they have no hesitations following you as they know you won’t make them do anything that goes against their morals and ethical code. You are an alpha my mother would have approved of greatly, and I would be honored if you would accept me into your fold.”

Ashley blinks heavily at his words, and she has to blink back a random tear as she looks him in the eye. “Of course I’ll take you in, you idiot.” She says, thumping him on the forehead. “You make it sound like a great honor, a knight pledging honor to his lady or some shit like that. Like I’d leave you to your own devices.”

“Well, it it’s kind of like that.” He says softly, looking down as she presses her thumb to his palm, and feels a warm sensation throughout his body as the mark is etched into his skin. When she finishes, it’s almost like a heaviness is lifted from him, and she moves her hand away, leaving the fading image of a rose with falling petals. They spend a couple of seconds just sitting there, watching it fade away, before they both look at each other and smile softly, as if sharing a great secret between one another.

“Come on Grumpy wolf, let’s tell Tony the good news, since he’s in a mood to spend money.” She says, standing up and grabbing his hand, pulling him up and dragging him with her towards the others.

“As you wish, boss lady.” He says, in a better mood than he’s been in a long time.


	9. A Change of Scent

Ashley sleeps fretfully that night, finally giving up around 5am and sitting up against the headboard, eyes still closed as she tries to figure out what feels so off, why the bed seems so cold and…well, off. She sits like that for several minutes, brain foggy as she hears birds chirping in the background, searching for their breakfast, making her mentally cuss the little feathery fiends out for being so perky and loud. Finally opening her eyes, she lets them adjust before looking around the room, making it finally click why the bed feels so wrong.

‘That’s right.’ She thinks to herself, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, all grogginess leaving her as she feels her trusted friends loss deeply, having not slept alone in her bed for a long time…since she found him, in fact. It didn’t feel right, sleeping here without him. He would always be either right next to her so she could cuddle up against him, fingers threaded through his soft fur, or he would be sleeping partially on top of her, head nestled on her stomach. It was the best feeling in the world, having him next to her, and he was gone.

So much for feeling better once she got home. Could this even feel like a home without Gwaine?

She sits like that until she can finally see the sun peeking out of her window, making herself go over last nights events so she doesn’t dwell on sad thoughts, like missing her best friend terribly. When she and Derek had gone back over to Tony and the Winchesters they had finally stopped arguing with one another, leaving the boys to gape at Tony as he described all the perks that would come with him being their sponsor.

“You’re….you’re kidding, right?” Dean had finally managed to get out while Sam just gaped, leaving Ashley to grin at the two of them while Derek looked on curiously. “I understand you’re filthy stinkin rich and all that jazz, but paying for all that? Credit cards, real badges, no more cheap ass motel rooms and insurance to boot? There’s gotta be a catch I’m not seeing.”

“No catch big boy. All I want is for you to keep doing what you were doing anyway, just with more of an advantage. Plus, you know keeping tabs with me when you go on your little hunts and trying out the toys I send your way. I don’t wanna be kept in the dark about this kinda stuff anymore.”

“And this idea just came to you outta the blue?”

“Not at all.”

“See Sammy, I told you…”

“No, it was Angel Cakes idea.” Tony said this with a grin, and both the Winchesters turned to gape soundlessly at her. 

“All this was your idea?” Dean asked, a look of wonder on his face. “Why would you do that?”

“Seriously?” She put her hands on her hips, glaring at the two of them. “I traveled with the two of you for three months, and know how you live. You’re lucky if you have any extra money on you, if at all, because you only have it from forging credit cards and pawning off stuff you find on hunts. Then all that goes to gas, bullets, cheap hotels, and if you’re lucky, a good meal. You can’t go to the doctor or dentist because you have no insurance, and if someone sees through your fake badges you’re screwed. This would cover all your bases and keep you taken care of, and I wouldn’t have to worry whether you’re staying fed or not. You’ll even have a place to crash when you’re not hunting, once Tony finishes building his children’s home here. You really gonna tell me you’re not interested in what he’s selling?”

They exchange a glance, a wordless conversation between them before they both turn back to her. “It’s not that…” Sam replies slowly. “It’s just kinda hard to believe, that’s all. Not having to worry about if we’re going to eat that day, or sleep in the car, or even have gas without siphoning it from another gas tank is kind of a wonderful thing to imagine, as weird as that might sound.”

“Then say yes and finally get paid to do this shit.” She says with a smirk. “Not like he can’t afford it. And if I’m right he’ll probably deck you out with all sorts of electronic goodies too.”

“That’s a must.” Tony says, stepping forward. “That laptop you have is practically an antique. And you’ll need a Starkphone and Starktab each, no plans required. I even have handy little watches for you to wear that lets J monitor your vital signs, so if you’re close to death he can alert someone. Oh, and the car…”

“You can stop right there, no one touches baby but me.” Dean says with a growl before Tony can finish. “No improvements, and any work that needs to be done on her, I’ll do, ya got it?”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll just buy one and fix it up myself, then see how you like your plain old car then.” Tony says with a bit of a pout. “So do we have a deal? Wanna be my private monster hunters?”  
)  
The Winchesters glance at her, and she gives them a silent nod, accompanied by a reassuring smile. Straightening up, they nod back at her before turning back to Tony, Dean answering for the both of them. “You know what? Why the hell not. It’s about time we get something back for all this supernatural crap, and sleeping on a bed where I don’t have to worry about what happened there last or finding roaches in the bathroom sounds like a dream. So sign us up, metal man, we’re in.”

Ashley feels a rush of happiness at their acceptance, happiness for her friends not having to worry about food or shelter or clean clothes or frankly anything, anymore, and Tony claps his hands together gleefully. “Boys, you just made the smartest decision of your lives, welcome to your first day as employees of Stark Industries! I’ll be your boss, Pepper will take care of all the little details, and you may or may not end up interacting with a little secret government agency called SHIELD every once in a while since you work for me, but no biggie. Now, when can you head back to New York so we can hammer out everything and make it official? Because I’d like to get you two decked out as soon as possible, replace some of that stone age tech you’re carrying around, capiche?”

“Uh, right.” Sam looks at Ashley, still standing next to Derek as he watches silently. “How long are you gonna need us here? I’d hate to leave while you have all this going on.”

“Go ahead and go with him.” She says, waving a hand at them good naturedly. “If things get too bad I can always ask for help, and I want you two on a payroll as soon as possible. We got this, don’t worry.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” Sam turns back to Tony. “We can leave as soon as you’re ready. It’ll be a couple of days to drive there, though.”

“Psh, as if. Can your little angel friend Cas transport things like Gabriel?”

“God, he already met that short angel ass.” Dean mutters to himself. “Yea, he can.”

“Then have him move the car to my garage under the tower, then you can fly on the jet with me. Easy. And as for you..” He turns to Derek, eyebrow raised as he takes in the dark, scruffy werewolf. “You must be Derek Hale. Tell me, did Angel Cake here tell you about my little idea?”

“She did.” Derek turns his signature emotionless facial expression towards the shorter man, arms crossed over his chest. “You want to build a children’s home on the land, right?”

“Exactamundo. And while I know it’s your family land and all, also know that money isn’t a problem. In fact…”

“You don’t need to say anything to convince me.” Derek interrupts before Tony can go on. “I’ll do it.”

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Tony pouts like a child. “But…I had a whole speech planned and everything, about leaving your past behind you and embracing your future. I was gonna sound like Yoda without the mixed up words.”

“Yea, really no need for that.” Derek says while Ashley giggles at the forlorn expression on Tonys face. “Ashley explained everything to me, and I accept. Both the selling of the land to you, and the job as head of security. As long as you do everything she said you would, accept my conditions, and provide a safe haven for the pack.”

“Ok….what are your conditions?”

“The house on site you mentioned, for one. I want myself and Chris Argent to be consulted on the actual building of the house, in case we come up with something you missed. A say in the staff hiring, my security team specifically. And a doctor on site at all times that knows the specifics of various supernatural creatures and humans both.”

“Those are all very doable things wolf man. Are you sure that’s all you wanna ask for? Skies the limit here.”

“Just one thing. When the home is finally built, I want Arthur as the first one admitted.” Ashley glances over at him, surprise etched on her face, and he shoots her a little smirk. ”My uncle is taking care of him for now, but he never expected it to be full time.”

“Deal. Now, about that buying price…”

Ashley chuckles softly to herself. Tony had, in fact, given Derek a blank check, but only after telling him the range he thought was reasonable and watching the younger mans eyes pop. He had then handed Derek a pen and said ‘Try me’.

The night had ended quickly after that. Dean had Cas bring the Impala to the garage like Tony suggested, then after saying goodnight to Derek, she had Tony bring her home, where she said her goodbyes to them as well. Tony had promised to get a hold of her as soon as he started on the land, as well as when he was ready to have that movie marathon, and then it was just her, standing in the yard by herself as she watched the car drive away. She had made her way into the house quickly after that, not wanting to risk running into Peter just yet.

Sighing, Ashley finally got out of bed, giving up on going back to sleep. After a quick shower and a cup of coffee, she sat down at her computer and pulled up Google, deciding that if she couldn’t sleep, she might as well do research. Luckily Tony’s electrician worked fast, and they had power back in the town when they dropped her off at the house. She started with what Sam had mentioned, looking up everything she could on Kitsunes, so that she would have a better grasp on what was going on with Kira. Apparantly the nogitsune craved chaos, fed on it even, and considered themselves experts on mischief making. Hopefully Sam was right and Kira was an Inari instead, because a nogitsune sounded like a nightmare to deal with.

After bookmarking it for her own personal notes, she moved on Thor, Loki and Asgard, hoping to find out more about the newest member of her pack…or at least what the stories claimed to be true. She continued along that path for a good hour and a half, and by the time she was done she had 12 different tabs open and saved for looking at later on her Starktab, all different tangents she kept going off on while reading.

She knew for sure they had some things wrong. Like the fact Loki was considered Odins blood brother, instead of adopted son. For another, Thor had no children yet, wasn’t even married for that matter. Other things were right, however, like Loki having children. Like poor Fenris, chained and stabbed through the mouth and left by himself on an abandoned island, all because of a stupid prophecy and fear of his strength.

And Yggdrasil… the more she read about the great tree, the more fascinating it seemed. A tree with different worlds on each branch, and various enormous creatures living in and around her. The roots connected to a well in heaven, the well Odin drank from to gain his wisdom (losing an eye in the process), and a spring said to be the source of all water for the worlds connected to Yggdrasil. There was even said to be a squirrel that ran messages from the eagle sitting atop the tree, to the wyrm living amongst the roots. 

There were a couple of sites that theorized that there was more than the initial nine worlds, as well, and that some of the branches connected to other parts of the universe like wormholes. She would have to ask about that next time she saw Thor and Loki, see if the theories were true. That is, if she saw them again. Hopefully Odin would see reason and give him a chance to explain things, show what he went through at the hands of the Chitari. And if she doesn’t hear from him…well, she did promise to go after him after a year. Damned if she was going to leave him to rot in some dungeon.

Leaning back in her seat she takes a deep breath, immediately regretting it as she smells Gwaine coming from her sheets, not a bad smell but one that reminds her of the grass and woods, as well as the shampoo she used on him to help keep the fleas and ticks back, a faint scent of oatmeal. Shutting her eyes tightly she fights off a round of tears that once more threaten to fall, then stands up quickly. Moving to her bed she peels off every sheet, pillowcase and blanket, gathers them up into a rather large ball and heads downstairs with them, heading to the laundry room and dumping them in the floor. Dividing them up into two piles she puts one in the washer, then looks around for the laundry detergent.

Which isn’t there. Along with fabric softener.

Swearing softly to herself, she looks inside the closet, then the bathroom, then under the kitchen sink with no success. Apparantly with her gone, the men of the house had reverted back to washing everything with either straight water or dishwashing liquid, if the soap residue around the washers edges indicated anything.

Swearing again she stands there for a moment, glaring at the washer as if waiting for it to magically show a bottle of Tide, and when it doesn’t she turns on her heel and go back up stairs to her room, grabs her phone and goes through her contacts till a familiar scruffy wolf pops up. She presses the call button and listens to it ring a couple of times before he answers, not half asleep like Stiles would still be.

“Hey Derek? I hate to bother you, but I could use a ride.”

************( )**************  
“Not that I minded, but what do you need to buy that couldn’t fit on your bike? Also, would Stiles not wake up?”

“Are you kidding me? Not on the weekend, and especially not until after like 5 cups of coffee. Even then it would take about an hour for it to all kick in.” Ashley walks in the store with Derek, grabbing a cart and immediately heading to the right corner closest to the mall entrance. He had headed over as soon as they ended the call, handing her a steaming cup of coffee when kshe had buckled in to the car. “Not that I didn’t appreciate the coffee you brought, but I can function without if I need to.”

“Yea, same here.” He chuckles. “I figured you needed it, though, after last night.”

“It did, thank you. As to you question…” She sighs, turning down the laundry Isle. “I woke up at the ass crack of dawn, and realized a couple of things. Like, for example, the bed didn’t feel right without Conner there. It felt empty, and cold. And when I took a deep breath, I could still smell him, all over my bed, all over the sheets…I went to wash everything, and there wasn’t any detergent. So here we are.”

He can feel the pain in here voice as she speaks, strong as she might try to be, and wishes he knew how to help. “I’m sorry. If it helps, I could rub myself all your room and replace it with my smell instead.”

She laughs softly, and he feels like he won a small victory. “Thanks, but I think I’ll try washing everything first, maybe some candles and febreeze. Even if I’m not gonna see Peter anymore, he might have a kitten if he smells you all over my room. Not to mention every other wolf that ends up in my room from time to time.”

“Well, I offered. I figured that would be more likely than you using me as a cuddle substitute.”

She laughs stronger this time. “Very true. I should probably stay away from those for a while anyway.” She grabs an extra large container of Tide Pods, as well as Downy Infusions fabric softener and a bleach pen for those eventual blood stains, then turns around and grabs a bottle of febreeze. She pushes the cart around and starts heading towards the candle section. “Thank you, by the way, for coming to get me.”

“You’re welcome. Not like I was asleep anyway, and I have some catching up to do.” They both stay silent for a couple of seconds, walking down the aisles as the various early birds do their shopping without the usual masses crowding the store. “So, was everything that Stark said true? Did you really help fight off an alien invasion?”

Ashley rolls her eyes, knowing someone would ask eventually. “Eh….yea, kinda. I didn’t fight as much as everyone else, and Tony tends to exaggerate quite a bit.”

“But you did help. And he said something about you protecting a group of kids? With the help of someone named Loki?”

She pulls down the candle aisle and looks around, lowering her voice slightly in case someone overhears. “I did. We were trying to get them to the subway, when one of the little girls got hit in the stomach with a blaster.” Dereks eyes go wide as he hears the anger in her voice, and she grips the cart as she looks over all the candles. “I just…something in me snapped. I felt so angry, and all I wanted to do was make sure non of the others were hurt. Loki said I held a shield around everyone for 30 minutes, and for the life of me I can’t remember how to do it again. All I know is Loki told me they were safe and I finally passed out with blood dripping down my face.”

“But you’re okay, right? No other lasting effects from it?”

“It’s complicated, but Loki said he’s going to look up some ways to help me. Please don’t worry too much about little old me.” She looks up at him with a weak smile. “For now, one crisis at a time is all I feel like dealing with.” She holds up two candles, both with completely different colors and scents. “Now, which sounds better, black raspberry vanilla or Christmas Morning Latte?”

He looks into her eyes as she pleads silently for him to change the subject, and gives an internal sigh, vowing to get to the bottom of things when he gets the chance. “Personally I’d go for the Christmas Morning Latte, it’s not as harsh on our senses, and you can’t beat the smell of coffee. Though, if you’re looking to drown out any other scents, I’d get both. The fruit scent of those things tend to mask everything else.”

“Huh, I never thought about that.” She says thoughtfully, looking at the shelf for a moment before putting the two candles back and grabbing box sets of both, each with a regular sized candle, several tea sized candles, a package of incense and a square of melts for her Scentsy burner, sticking them in the cart. “Might as well stock up. You never know when you might need to mask a smell, wolves or not, and since I share a house with two guys I need to be prepared.”

“What else do you need? Might as well take advantage of being here with a car, and I’ve literally got nothing else to do. That, and I want to question you before Stiles gets a chance.” He says this last part with a smirk, and she can’t help but chuckle at him. 

“Yea, all right. I can’t promise I’ll answer them all, but I’ll answer what I can. We can just walk around and see if anything catches my eye. I honestly haven’t just walked around in a while without worrying if something is gonna jump out at me. It’ll be nice to have a break, brief as it might be.” Taking the cart she exits the aisle and just starts walking with it, not really heading anywhere in particular with it but just walking to walk. “What would you like to ask me?”

“Well, since you already mentioned one subject is off the table for now.” He says, shooting her a glance. “I gotta know…is this Loki guy the actual Loki from Norse mythology? And Thor?”

“Yes to both.” Spying the bedding section, she narrows her eyes and moves the cart in that direction on a whim. “Parts of the stories are wrong, but they’re definitely the real deal. I saw Mjolnir in action myself, and Loki definitely has the silver tongue the myths describe. They’re also both strong as hell and have some crazy ass powers. Loki actually healed the little girl a bit before helping me to maintain the shield.”

“I guess after meeting angels and demons I really shouldn’t be surprised that gods exist too. And those aliens, the Chitari you called them? I saw footage of the attack, those things looked like a nightmare brought to life.”

“They really were. The only noise I ever heard them make was a gravelly screeching, and they didn’t care about taking prisoners, all they cared about was destroying everything and everyone they could touch.”

“But you managed to stop them.”

“Mainly everyone else, but yea, we stopped them for now. Gabe kicked a missile into the portal, and it blew up the mothership. Once it blew, all the Chitari on the ground not done in by…”She smiles, remembering the name Tony had decided the team was going to be called, after the initiative Fury had apparently started to get them together in the first place. “the Avengers and Luce just dropped, dead immediately. Apparantly they shared a type of hive brain, and once the main hive was gone, so went the rest. Just in case, though, Luce said he burned all the bodies remaining. He didn’t want to take chances.”

He laughs as they walk through the bedding aisle, and she looks up and down the shelves as if looking for something. “Avengers huh? Is that the official name of their little group?”

“According to Tony it is, and no ones argued with him about it yet. Well, Loki might have told him it was ridiculous, and a bit egotistical, but that’s like a perfect description of Tony anyway.”

“From the small amount of time I’ve spent with him, I agree 100%. But you have to admit, from the footage I’ve seen the team looks pretty unbelievable. A giant rage monster, Captain America unthawed, two literal gods, a rich guy who builds flying metal suits that can shoot lasers from his hands…”

“Don’t forget about the super spy dressed in a leather cat suit and the assassin who shots a bow and arrow and never misses a shot.”

“Who?”

“Hawkeye and Natasha. SHIELD probably kept them off the videos since they’re under cover most of the time, but they’re both bad asses. And the Hulk is only one half of the person that makes up Bruce Banner. Bruce is a mild, brilliant scientist who just happens to have a real life Jekyll/Hyde situation going on, only the Hulk isn’t really evil, more like really emotional and smashy.”

“It sounds like a good team of people to have around, especially if those Chitari keep trying to come back. And just a good group of people all around.”

“They are.” She says quietly, not mentioning the fact that the thing that controlled Loki might come after her if it gets the chance, especially since she took its puppet away. Rounding the next corner they find themselves in the Sears home section, and her eyes widen as she spies a beautiful dark blue comforter set, accented in black, dark grey and silver. She walks up to it and feels the sheets, buttery soft to the touch and high quality, while the comforter itself was thick enough to be warm in the winter, yet light enough that she wouldn’t sweat in the summer. Stepping back to look at the bed put together, she notices it comes with two regular pillowcases, as well as one for a body pillow.

“It’s nice.” Derek says after noticing her looking over the bed set, and steps up next to her. “I thought you were going to just wash your bed sheets to get rid of Gwaines lingering scent?”

“I still am, they need to be washed no matter what.” She says, still looking at the bed set with an odd glint in her eyes. “But it can’t hurt to get another set, right? And I don’t know what it is, but something about the colors seem familiar to me, like an itch at the back of my brain I just can’t scratch.”

He looks at her curiously, her eyes not leaving the bed set. “So do you want to get it then? Like I said, take advantage of having a car to haul this stuff, and if you want it, well, you should get it.”

She stares a couple more seconds, seeing a flash of something that looked like dark blue and black scales go through her mind, before shaking her head and clearing it away, feeling the start of a headache. “Yea, you’re right, I do want it. It, and a body pillow to fit the extra case. I can use it as a Gwaine cuddling substitute.”

“You ok?” Derek asks, concerned as he sees her rubbing her temple, eyes closed for a second as if in pain.

“Yea, just getting a headache. Come on Grumpy wolf, help me find a queen size. Then we’ll head back to the house and I’ll make something tasty to eat. You like omelets, right?”

**********( )*********** 

Stiles watches Derek carefully as Ashley finishes up the last omelet, extra large cup of coffee wedged in his hands as he grips it tightly, like a lifeline. He’d been like that from the moment he could focus enough on other things to notice Derek sitting there at all, the wolf smirking at him as his eyes slowly widen and his mouth gapes wide. He didn’t even seem to know that Derek was the one who handed him the coffee in the first place, which just made the situation more amusing to the normally stoic wolf. Her uncle had already left for work, Ashley having given him an omelet to go, and it said something he didn’t even blink at the site of Derek in the kitchen with her. Well, he did blink, but that was about it, only mumbling a thank you before shuffling out the door.

“So, is this how it’s going to be now? Every once in a while I’m gonna come downstairs for my precious elixir and find a new person in here with you? I mean, I don’t mind that much, but could it at least be someone who hasn’t threatened my person? In particular, with their sharp, pointy teeth? It’s all I’m asking, really.”

“Shut up Stiles.” Derek says in a cheerful voice, and Stiles recoils in horror.

“Oh my god. Why do you sound happy? That’s honestly scarier than when you’re mad! Please stop it. Cuz, make him stop!”

“Oh, be quiet and drink your coffee.” She says, folding the omelet over on its plate and bringing all three over, putting one in front of him and Derek before sitting down herself. “Derek was nice enough to help me with some shopping this morning, so I offered him breakfast.”

“But why does he sound happy? And it’s only like 9 in the morning, what the hell did you need help buying earlier than that?”

“Maybe I just like weirding you out.” Derek says before taking a bite, relishing the cheesy goodness.

“For one? Laundry detergent, since neither of you bothered to buy any while I was gone and I needed to do a couple of loads.” She says, throwing a half assed glare his way and rolling her eyes when he just shrugs at her. She takes a bite of her own omelet, washing it down with orange juice before looking back up at him. “I needed to wash, by the way, because everything smelled like Gwaine if I’m gonna sleep in there his smell can’t be there anymore, it just makes me think of him.”

Stiles pales when she mentions this, finally putting down his half drunken coffee. “Crap, I…I didn’t even think about that, your sheets still smelling like him. I’m sorry.”

“Eh, I didn’t either, don’t worry about it. I got so used to the smell while he was still here, I didn’t even think about it still smelling like him from sleeping on my bed so many times. It’s not that I want to forget him…I just don’t want to be reminded of him every time I try and sleep, every time I walk into my room and take a deep breath.”

“That’s one of the reasons I’m selling my land.” Derek says, halfway through his food already. “Well, you know, other than the fact it’ll drive Peter up a wall.”

“Wait, you sold your land?” Stiles exclaims loudly, jaw dropping once more. “When did this happen? You’re back half a night and I’m already missing stuff!”

“Last night, actually. I sold it to Tony Stark for a very hefty sum.”

“How hefty we talkin?”

“Stiles! That’s none of your business!”

“But I’m curious! And Tony Stark is rich enough to buy this entire town 8 times if he wanted to!”

“Doesn’t matter, you don’t ask that kind of thing, it’s rude. Like asking a females weight, or which STD is making a person itch.”

“Ugh, gross. Can I at least know why he’s buying it from you? It must be a big deal if you sold him your families land, I know what it meant to you.”

“I’ll tell everyone at the meeting Ashley wanted to have this afternoon. It has to do with our pack anyway, so it’s only right I tell everyone at the same time.”

“You’re no fun Sour Wolf.” Stiles sulks, eating a third of the omelet in one bite then glaring at the two of them. They both can tell the moment it hits him, as if a giant lightbulb turns on over his head, and his eyes go wide. “Wait….you said our pack. Does that mean..”

“I made him part of the pack last night, Stiles. He asked to join us, and I wasn’t about to let him stay an omega.”

“Welp, there goes the neighborhood.” Stiles grumbles to himself, stuffing the rest of his omelet in his mouth and grumbling something incomprehensible, washing it down with his coffee. “Well, if you aren’t going to tell me anything good I’m going back to my room, I don’t think this environment is good for me so early in the morning.” Saying that he stands up, puts his plate in the dishwasher and moves towards the stairs.

“Stiles, it’s 9:30 in the morning.” She says in a dry tone.

“Key word: morning. My brain and social skills don’t kick in till 11.” 

As he walks out, Derek goes to say something, eyebrow cocked, but Ashley stops him before he can. “Don’t bother asking, it won’t do any good. You think he’s stubborn and annoying during the day, I promise you that you haven’t seen anything. You might actually try and rip his throat out this time.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” He chuckles, taking another bite. He might not have shoved the entire thing in his mouth like Stiles, but his wolf appetite had him finishing it off in no time, and soon he had the entire thing polished off, even though she had made him one twice the size of hers. “Thanks for breakfast, I haven’t had one not from McDonalds in forever, and the loft doesn’t have much of a kitchen.”

“It was the least I could do since you were willing to go shopping with me. The only guy I know who actually likes to shop is Tony, and I had to convince him not to buy me an entire wardrobe while I was in New York. He still thinks he’s going to do it, eventually. Said he owed me a makeover for some reason.”

“Don’t mention it, seriously.” He says, face stern all of a sudden. “You don’t owe me anything considering how long I was a dick to you. “

“Oh for the love of…not this again. I told you you’re forgiven, so stop beating yourself up. Don’t make me order you, because I will.”

“It’s not something I can exactly turn off, you know.” He says, arms crossed. “No matter how many times you say I’m forgiven. I still have to make it up in my own way, forgive myself. So get over it. Now, what time are we going to meet up with everyone again?”

Ashley sighs heavily at his abrupt change in topic, knowing how stubborn he can be, that he’s more than a match for her. “I sent everyone a text to meet up here at 12, that should give them time to wake up and get around. We’ve got quite a bit to go over, since we can’t get a freakin break in this town. Hopefully that Kira girl was able to get some answers from her parents, and Chris has news on whatever those shadow ninja things were. Once we’re all caught up, we can figure out what to do from there.”

Derek nods. “We can tell them about the home, then, as well, and I can talk to Chris about coming up with a list with me of things that would come in handy to have there.”

“I need to talk to Crowley about seeing if he’ll put ward around it like he did this house, maybe see if there’s any other wards that might come in handy. If we work it right, the house will be protected from pretty much anything that could even imagine attacking it.”

“Plus help keep the kids on the property, especially if they’re transformed and can’t control themselves all the way yet.” His eyes light up all of a sudden, and a smile l8ghts up his face. “I forgot to tell you, Tony sent me a text this morning, which is weird because I’m pretty sure I didn’t give him my number.”

“Yea, he’s kind of a hacker, you get used to it though. What did it say?”

“It came in two parts. The first one was a bank draft showing the deposit made into my account this morning for the land, which honestly I didn’t expect to early.” He shows her the screen of his phone, and her eyes widen at the number in front of her.

“That is a lot of zeros, holy crap….I hate to ask what the second part was.”

“Nothing bad. He actually sent me a picture of the sign he came up with for the home, as well as the name he came up with. I think you’ll approve of it.” He turns the phone around again, and she smiles broadly as she sees the name on the digital rendering of the sign Tony sent Derek.

It was a simple wooden sign for now, with the carved image of a child with angel wings hugging what looked suspiciously like a wolf, with the name ‘The Hale Childrens Refuge’, both figures surrounded by trees.


	10. Hell pups

They are called the Oni.” Chris Argent tells the group, gathered in the repurposed basement after deciding the house was much more safe than out in the open of the park, even if it was still daylight. Ashley had cashed in her favor with Derek for finding him during hide and seek, and since he was feeling particularly generous due to the rather large sum of money now in his account, he bought another couch for the basement that wrapped around half the room, as well as padding for the area that they’d be sparring in. It made fitting everyone in the basement comfortably much easier, which was a good thing considering how large the pack was becoming. For example, Ethen and Aiden were now members of the pack, as well as Danny after a short explanation of everything. Once everyone arrived, minus Kira who was still talking to her parents but knew where to go, and Ashley had her fill of telling what happened to her while she was gone, Chris found himself in the middle of the room explaining his findings. “I saw them when I was 18, on a job Gerard had sent me on. It was a weapons deal for the Yakuza.”

“Wait, like, the Asian mafia, that Yakuza? Are you kidding me?” Stiles interrupts loudly, mouth agape as he stares at the hunter. “You were giving them weapons?”

Chris just glares at him, causing the teen to squirm under his gaze. “Yes, that Yakuza. Back then I didn’t ask that many questions, I just did my job. The deal, however, was interrupted by a group of dark beings I know now to be Oni. They were there for the leader, who ended up being a type of vampire I believe, going by the teeth, and went through every one of his men before killing him. I managed to stop one of them by shooting its mask, which cracked in half, saving one of the men in the process. That’s all I know for now, but I’m hoping the man I saved might be able to tell us more. They call him Silverfinger.”

“How are you planning on getting ahold of him?” Ashley asks curiously before Stiles can cut in. “Is he still in the states, or were you planning a trip overseas?”

“He’s still in the state, actually. I have a weapon he’s interested in buying, and plan on meeting with him later to sell it. Well, I mean technically I am. He won’t meet in person, so Isaac has volunteered to go in my place to do the sale while Allison and I search for him elsewhere in the building, since he will still be close by. We should have more information on the Oni by tonight.”

“Ok, just be careful you two.” She says to the teens in question, sitting next to each other on the couch but trying to act nonchalant about it, to her amusement. “I don’t wanna be back for one day just to hear you got yourselves shot up. Same for you, Chris.”

He gives a shadowed grin that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “He’s a paranoid bastard, but it shouldn’t be too hard to deal with him. Still, we’ll be careful, I promise, and call as soon as we know something. If you don’t mind we’re going to go ahead and leave, he may be in the state but it’s still a two hour drive.”

“Go ahead, I don’t think there’s anything else we need to talk about.” Chris nods at the teenagers and they stand up, following him out of the basement. As the others start to disperse as well, Stiles comes up to Ashley, wringing his hands a bit and looking nervous. Ashley waits for him to start talking patiently, noticing Ethen and Aiden following Scott out, while Danny and Lydia sat together on the couch talking softly to one another, every once in a while shooting Derek a glance.

“I need talk to you.” He says quietly, wringing his hands together and looking decidedly nervous. “I feel like somethings off, but I don’t know what. Like, the other day, I felt like I was in two places at the same time, and I’ve been getting weird, splitting headaches. Not only that, but I’ve been feeling sick, more tired lately.”

She frowns, putting the back of her hand against his forehead, and sure enough he has a mild fever. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, go to the doctor, something like that? How long have you felt like this?”

“For about three days now. One night I woke up and it was like my body had split completely in half, though that could have been from me somehow rolling off the bed and hitting the floor, since that’s where I woke up. I was covered in sweat and my nose was bleeding, and I’ve felt off ever since.”

“Why the hell didn’t you go to the doctor?”

“He blushes. “I hate the doctor, you know that. I thought maybe I could wait it out.”

“You idiot.” She says, rolling her eyes and pulling him in for a hug, before looking him square in the eyes. “Are you ok to drive?”

“Yes…”

“Then go to the hospital and see if Scotts mom will take a look at you, since you aren’t afraid of her. Do you want me to go with you?” He shakes his head once. “Then go on and go, and call me as soon as you know something.” He nods, turning to leave, but pauses as if he wants to something else. However, he shakes his head and keeps moving, leaving her alone with Derek, Danny and Lydia.

“Everything ok with Stiles?” Derek asks as she plops onto the couch next to him with sigh. “He looked nervous.”

“Yea, he’s just bad about not going to the doctor when he needs to. He’s been feeling off, so I sent him to Scotts mom for a check up, no big deal.” She says, then looks over to the two remaining teens. “Danny, I gotta say you’re taking all of this almost too well. I expected denial, staying away from us for a while, something.”

Danny shrugs, an innocent half smile on his face. “I’ve had an idea of what was going on for a while, to be honest, so it was nice to have my suspicions confirmed.”

“You had suspicions there were teenaged werewolves running around?”

“My family has been here for a while, so they’ve noticed things here and there. They just never really got involved with the whole mess.”

“Until now?”

“Until now. I can’t think of too much I can do, but just sitting around watching while people I know get hurt isn’t something I think I can do.”

“I’m recruiting him for team research.” Lydia says with a smirk. “Let the wolves handle the heavy lifting, while we handle the details. No offense grumpy wolf, I’m sure you have some brains beneath all that scruff and muscle, but between the two of us we’re the top of our class.”

“Only some offense taken.” He says, cocking an eyebrow at her, then frowning as he pulls out his vibrating phone and stares at the message as if trying to set it ablaze. Typing out a short reply he turns to Ashley. “That was Peter, he says he needs to meet with me.”

“Geez, everyone is leaving me. Go ahead, I’m just gonna stay here and talk to these two anyway, maybe fix the basement up a bit more. Don’t let him piss you off too much, you know he does it on purpose.”

“No promises.” He says, still frowning. “He may have just his own encounter with the Oni and want to ask me about it.”

****************( )******************

Ashley spent the next few hours talking with Danny and Lydia, going over things like the database she was creating, the home Tony was going to build on the land Derek sold to him, and the fact that Lydia now knew she was a banshee. It was a relief to the red head, as she had wondered for quite some time why she would always find herself at murder scenes before anyone else, and why the wolf bite didn’t take. Now that she had a name, she had what she needed to research the hell out of it, and research she did. Ashley filled in what blanks she could, though Lydia had, as usual, done her job well.

The most obvious thing was that she had a supersonic scream that she could use to attack or defend herself, though she could also use it to focus on the whispers in her head that only she can hear. As well, other supernatural creatures can hear it at a long range, drawing them to her if she needs help. Another perk was that even though they are connected to the supernatural world, they aren’t affected by it, meaning no bite would ever affect her, and that she could cross mountain ash barriers with no problems.

A problem was, however, that she would still likely be drawn to murder scenes unless she could learn to control the subconscious urge to head towards them. Ashley was hoping that eventually she would be able to focus enough to simply tell others where to go, instead of heading there herself in the middle of the night. Maybe Loki or Crowley knew someone who could help her hone her abilities….

Speaking of the diminutive devil, one minute Ashley was discussing using the two geniuses as teaching assistants in case she got transported off to who the hell knows where again considering between the two of them they were the most likely to keep the class in line, the next he was standing in the middle of the room, looking relieved for a fraction of a second to see her before switching to his usual mask. “You really need to stop doing these little disappearing acts poppet, you’re going to give your celestial pigeons a heart attack. They really don’t like it when they’re reminded that they’re not as all knowing as they pretend.”

“Just the angels?” She asks with a little smirk. “Because I know I certain demon who hates not being in the know as well.”

“I admit to nothing. Welcome back, however. I heard you had quite the little adventure this time. Germany, aliens and pagan gods? Super spies and a giant flying fortress of death? I’m hurt you didn’t invite me.”

“In my defense…” She starts, patting the space beside her while Lydia explains to Danny who the familiar man is, “I didn’t even manage to call Luce or Gabe until the end of the battle, I had some sort of block stopping me. Balthazar was able to sense me because he was nearby, but otherwise they couldn’t locate me till I cracked the block. So don’t feel too bad.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to show up anyway, its been a very busy week.” He says with a mysterious smile, then frowns a bit. “Was that the last time you saw the british pigeon?”

“Yea, after I unpossessed Loki, he went off to find Luci and Gabe. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since. Is everything ok?”

“I’m not sure. According to my sources, remains of grace and bloody feather have been left at various spots, along with the supernatural corpses. It reeks of a ritual, one that requires a constant flow of ingredients from a live source, and the trickster mentioned that a friend of his was missing. There’s a high chance he’s alive, but being kept for parts.”

Ashley goes pale, hand gripping her leg tightly. “Is there any way to find him? I can’t lose any more friends.”

“I’m afraid not. All we can do at this point is try and anticipate their next move, hopefully catch them in the act before they can achieve their goal. But enough of this talk, I have something to show you if you have the time.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise, poppet. Mind if I steal her for a while?” He asks Lydia, eyebrow cocked in challenge as if daring her to say no.

Lydia waves her hand in their general direction nonchalantly, having opened up the notepad of supernatural creature notes Ashley had handed her and scooting close to Danny so they could both peruse it. “Sure, why not, we have reading to do anyway. Have fun in hell, or where ever he’s taking you.”

The last thing Ashley sees of the basement is Danny’s wide eyed look as Crowley pops her away to areas unknown.

************( )**************

They appear in what looks like an old part of the woods surrounding Dereks old house, the trees pressed together closely providing a natural canopy in what was almost a fairy circle, just missing the mushrooms. She can hear a stream nearby, and looks down to see herself standing on a natural path. She frowns, looking around more, and sees an elegant carved granite piece jutting up from the ground about two feet high, words carved into it. Looking over at Crowley confusedly, he simply nods her forward, face solemn and betraying nothing.

As she moves forward the words become clearer to her and tears start prickling at the corners of her eyes, and she drops to her knees in front of the gravestone, decorated tastefully around the edges with the various stages of the moon and a tiny vine just starting to climb it. It read ‘Here lies Gwaine, who died protecting the one he loved most, his pack, his family, his best friend. His sacrifice shall not be in vain, and his legacy will go on.’ As a tear makes its way down her cheek, she feels a hand on her shoulder, Crowley looking at with what looked remarkably like sympathy as he hands her a rose to place at the graves base. “I didn’t think you would want him sitting in Argents trunk wrapped up like a mummy, so I brought him here and buried him properly. There’s a slight ward around the area to keep anything from disturbing the area, as well as the path leading here, and you can reach it from your grumpy wolfs burnt house.”

“Thank you Crowley.” She says quietly, so soft you can barely hear it unless you were specifically paying attention. “Gabe said you took care of it, but I didn’t think it was quite to this extent.”

“He was your family. I assumed you would want a proper burial for him, not just for him to be dropped in a random hole and forgotten. I did the same for Growlys mother when she died, so I could have a place to visit her.”

“You were right. This area is perfect for him….I’ll have to make sure Tony knows to leave it be when he builds the children’s home here.” She kisses the rose softly and lies it against the gravestone, then stands up to face Crowley, eyes still damp. This time, he expects it as she wraps her arms around his neck for a hug, letting her quietly grieve on his shoulder where no one else in the world can see or judge, and he again finds himself protective of the young woman putting so much trust in him when she clearly shouldn’t, considering his past, his job….just him in general. He wasn’t exactly a good person, not in any sense of the word, yet she wasn’t afraid to be alone with him, to joke with him, to cry on his shoulder like she was now and not think for a second he might take advantage in some way or another.

He wasn’t this affectionate with his own son when he was alive, and that was before he became a demon! Yet, something about the woman in front of him brought out the latent fatherly instincts in him, and he still wasn’t sure yet how he felt about it.

When she finally lets go, he looks at her blotchy, tear stained face and gives her a comforting smile, a strange look on his usual straight face. “Perk up love, he wouldn’t want you dripping everywhere. How about I show you something that will cheer you up straight away?” She nods at him and he takes her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before popping them away once more, hopefully to a more cheerful setting.

**************( )**************

“Oh my god, puppies!” Ashley squeals in delight once Crowley tells her to open her eyes, before immediately dropping down next to the proud mother and her babies and giving Growly a soft kiss on the top of her tired head. Growly responds by nuzzling her in return, then picks up an escaping puppy and places him in Ashleys lap, a handsome fellow all black with silver eyes. Ashley immediately cuddles the little fellow close, cooing at him while Growly lays her head on a pillow and watches.

Crowley watches the scene in fascination. He hadn’t known how Growly would react to another person being brought around the puppies, considering how protective hellhounds could be, but he had hoped for the best. Honestly he nearly had a heart attack when she dropped down in front of the lot, considering the first time a demon came in Growly had chased it out of the room in a rush of fire and loud, angry snarls, but she hadn’t even looked crossly at Ashley. Even now, all the puppies were inching their way towards her, confirming his suspicions about them having a half formed bond with her already due to their parents. The little boy was crawling around in her lap, the rest sniffing her and edging closer, while she now had a hold of the little silver girl and held her close to her chest, smiling happily as she slowly relaxed in her hands, falling asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.

“How old are they?” She finally asks, in the midst of fluffy happiness.

“A couple of days old.” He says, arms crossed as he leans against the wall, snapping up a blanket that appears over Growly as she drifts off as well. “Hellhound births can be…difficult, to say the least, so I stayed with her the entire time, plus a day after to make sure none of them died birth, and that she got plenty of rest and food.”

“Well they’re adorable.” She says, large smile on her face as she continues to cradle the silver girl. “Hard to believe these little guys grow up to be big bad hellhounds, the little cuties. When do they start being trained to bring in souls and stuff like that?”

“When they’re about three months old. However, not all of them will necessarily hunt souls. Some are used for body guards, much like Growly did for you. It depends on who they bond with, usually.”

“When do they usually bond with someone? How do you know when they do?”

“Full of questions, aren’t you?”

Ashley blushes slightly. “Sorry, I can’t help it, I’m curious. It’s what me and Stiles have in common. And considering these little guys are the last part of Gwaine left, I want to know as much as I can about them.”

“It’s fine.” He says, moving around to sit on a chair next to her. “You see how all the puppies started sniffing you like the did, and Growly placed the one on your lap? That means, through her and Gwaine, they already have a partial bond with you. Otherwise, Growly wouldn’t have trusted you with any of them. That means that while they can bond with others, they’ll always have a partial one with you, and one or more of them might fully bond with you.” He leans back, eyes showing him deep in thought as he chuckles to himself. “When Growly bonded with me as a hell pup, she would pop up at the most random times. Sometimes while I was eating, sometimes while I was brokering a deal…once I was taking a bath, enjoying some time between deals, and she just appeared a foot above the bath, splashing down into it and throwing water everywhere.”

Ashley snorts loudly, drawing him out of his flashback and causing him to throw a half assed glare at her. “Sorry, just imaging you in a bathroom covered with water and bubbles from the splash back, and a tiny excited Growly just happy to have found you. Its quite the picture, and your facial expression makes it.”

As she giggles silently, not wanting to wake the sleeping hellhounds, he can’t help but shake his head at the sight of the girl surrounded by creatures that anyone with even the slightest bit of supernatural knowledge would be frightened of, while she was instead sitting in the floor and cuddling with them and calling them sweet little things. He shouldn’t have been surprised considering her history with other dangerous beings, himself included in that list, yet she still managed to do so. It was a shame that the Winchesters tendencies rubbed off on her as much as they did, causing her to throw herself into dangerous situations to save people she barely knows, but at least she wasn’t as idiotic about it. “Just wait, it might happen to you as well. They’re precocious little buggers.”

“Most puppies are.” She says softly, stroking the soft down of the silver puppy’s back and watching it stretch in her arms. She imagined it was what Gwaine looked like as a puppy, small and silky and innocent looking. “When will you name them?”

“I haven’t named them yet because I was waiting on you, actually. I thought you might like to help.”

She looks up at him, wide eyed, surprise written on her face. “You…really? I can help you name them?”

“Of course, I can’t think of anyone better for the job. At least I know you won’t name them something idiotic.” The smile on her face once again gives him that strange warm feeling inside, making him wonder if this was what it was like to have emotions other than anger or greed, to want to make someone else happy before yourself. It was a strange feeling to say the least, and one he wanted to further study. “Why don’t you start with the little girl you’re holding?”

Ashley looks down at the hell pup in her arms, completely relaxed and asleep with not a care in the world. “Well, I suppose if I’m to follow my pattern so far, then there’s only one thing I can name her. Guinevere, my little Gwen.”

“See, that’s what I was talking about, intelligent names. No Spot or Rover nonsense.”

“Didn’t you name her Growly?”

“I was drunk at the time, no judging.” He says, throwing her an annoyed glance she promptly ignores, then sighs loudly and dramatically. “Fine I admit it wasn’t my best moment, but what’s done is done. Now, what about the others?”

***************( )***************

Crowley drops her back off later in the basement, after a long session of naming puppies and catching up with her on the events of the past week, reluctantly agreeing to ward the home for her once it’s built, though he did say he would figure out a way to tweak them to help keep the fur inclined inside the boundaries during their change, as well as a few others for everyones safety. He also promised to keep her in the know about the investigation, suggesting none of her pack go out alone in case someone attempts to take them the same way the rest of the victims were taken. It had been hard to leave all the fluffy hell pups behind, but she made sure to take plenty of pictures, partially for her sake, partially to show off to everyone else.

Her phone, of course, immediately starts going off when she returns, due to cell reception in hell being terrible. Crowley was trying to change that, but for some reason the old snap up a solution approach just wasn’t working. Luckily none of them were sent too long ago, so her lack of response wasn’t worrying. Melissa had sent a text saying that Stiles had fallen asleep on one of the beds after she gave him a mild sedative, and would be having some tests done to make sure nothing too serious was wrong. She did want to stop by the house and talk to her about something after work, though, so Ashley texted her back and told her to come on by.

The other was from Scott, somehow convinced that the Oni were going to come after Kira next and wondering if they could come to the house and stay for a while, thinking that maybe the wards will keep the Oni out. Again she sent a yes, not minding keeping the teens around if they felt safer there, wishing they had a better long term plan for the nights, considering the demons only came out then. Perhaps she could talk to them about having some sorta pack sleepover, at least on the weekend. She found herself wishing Deucalion wasn’t out trying to make reparations for his past…anger issues…even though it was good for his soul. It simply would have been nice to have his opinion on things, his expertise.

Lydia and Danny were, amazingly, still going over all of her notes and discussing things with one another, having gotten stuck on the pages on the differences between the types of werewolves and the story of their separation in the first place. After showing off pictures of the hell pups she joined the discussion, eventually turning it to the fact that there were several types of vampires as well due to evolution, mutations and more curses. They were discussing various forms of defense when Kira, Scott and his mom all showed up, Kira looking nervous about something as Scott sits her down. Melissa, however, looks a bit concerned as well, so after whispering to Lydia to try and include the poor girl into a conversation, Ashley makes her way to the mother still in her nursing scrubs.

“Hey, are you ok? You look worried.” Ashley asks as she notices the folder in Melissa’s hands.

“I am a little bit to be honest. Do you mind if we sit? I’ve been on my feet all day and they’re screaming for fuzzy slippers.”

“Oh, yea sure! Would you like something to drink? We have some cream soda and various V8’s in the basement fridge.” Melissa says yes, and after leading her to one of the couch ends (the one where she can easily spy on Scott and his new crush), she grabs a couple of cream sodas from the refrigerator and comes back to sit next to her. “So what’s up? I’m assuming it has to do with Stiles and his not feeling well.”

“You’re right.” Melissa says with a heavy sigh, hands still on the folder. “He had quite a laundry list of complaints, lack of sleep included obviously, so I gave him a mild sedative to at least help on that front. He…he said thanks mom before he passed out.”

“Oh Stiles.” Ashley says softly to herself, frowning. “Poor guy. His mom pampered him when he got sick, so he misses her more than ever when he is.”

“I remember, she was quite the nurturer. That’s not why I’m here though.” Melissa hands Ashley the file, and Ashley takes it curiously, eyes widening when she opens it to reveal the medical records of Stiles mother. “Something nudged at my mind when he said mom, and when I followed my gut I noticed something. What does it say her symptoms were when she started to get sick?”

Ashley frowns deeper. “Lets see…sleep problems, loss of appetite, hallucinations, black outs, dizziness, various flu symptoms…there were a couple of others too, but what does this have to do with Stiles? He looked like he just had the flu, and he hasn’t said anything about hallucinations.”

“He has to me.” Scott says, breaking in. Both the women turn to him, waiting for him to continue, and Scott flushes as everyone turns their attention to him. “He said there was something written on a chalkboard at school in code that said Kira in his handwriting, but when he went to show me it was gone. Not only that, he said the writing in books has been mixing itself in front of him, and that he thought he saw himself across the school parking lot a couple of times.” 

Ashley pales. “So he has been having hallucinations. Combined with his other symptoms…”

“It sounds like the beginning of what his mom had.” Melissa says soberly. Everyone one else in the room goes downcast at that, even Kira who doesn’t know him that well. “We need to get a scan of his brain. If its true, and we catch it early, we may be able to stop it in time. We couldn’t with his mother because they spent so much time trying to figure out the problem in the first place, but we still could with him.”

“Fucking hell.” Ashley says quietly, leaning back with her eyes closed and running her hands through her hair, wincing when she encounters a knot. “This is going to destroy Uncle John….we need to get him in for a scan as soon as we can.”

“I could, you know…bite him.” Scott offers tentively. “When Derek bit Isaac and Erica it fixed the problems they had. Maybe it could fix Stiles too?”

“But there’s just as likely a chance he won’t survive.” Ashley replies tiredly, looking at true alpha. “Remember? And it has to be his choice. For now we need to get the brain scan over with and see if its even what’s wrong with him without jumping to conclusions. If not, he probably just has a bad flu and someone’s messing with his head big time. And if that is the problem…well, we can pull out the big guns.”

Melissa frowns. “You think someone could be messing with him?”

“In this town, yes. Someone, or something.” Suddenly there is a knocking on the door to the basement, and Scott sits straight up, alert, as someone walks slowly down the stairs. Ashley puts her hand on her ring just in case, knowing that none of the pack would bother knocking, nor would her uncle. The angels and Crowley would just pop in, and Jarvis would warn her if Tony was coming. That left an unexpected guest.

Sure enough, Scotts dad emerges from the doorway a moment later, hand on his weapon as his takes in the scene. “I’m not interrupting your little gang meeting, am I?”

“What are you doing here?” Melissa cries angrily, standing and walking up to her ex. “Just because you’re FBI doesn’t mean you can break into someones house!”

“I can with probably cause.” He replies, eyeing Melissa and his son. “Like, say, catching someone on camera breaking into my laptop to destroy evidence?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ashley growls, though inwardly she’s cursing the Winchesters into Oblivion. She just knew this would come back to bite her in the ass. “No one here had any reason to delete stuff from your laptop, much less evidence of a crime.”

“You’re half right, no one here has.” He says, bringing a phone out of his pocket and showing them the screen. Sure enough, Sam and Deans faces are there, Sam closest as the one obviously working the laptop, and Dean looking over his shoulder. However, what makes her blood go cold is the face far behind them in the background, looking through the glass of the room next door.

It was Stiles. His face was pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes and well as a creepy smile, but it was definitely him. He couldn’t of been though, he was there at the loft with them that night, right?

“As you can see, I have very probably cause. And since it seems the two main trouble makers have skipped town without a trace, all that leaves me is Stiles. Unless you happen to know where the others have ran off to?”

“Why would I know? For all I know, this could be another trick of yours to get my uncle kicked off the force.” Ashley says, glancing out the basement window and wincing as she notices it getting dark outside. “Crap, he picked the perfect time to come over, didn’t he?” She thinks to herself.

“Kid, I don’t need any tricks for that.” He replies, glancing at her. “And are you sure you don’t know? Because they were apparantly subbing for you while you were gone.”

“It doesn’t mean I know them! The school picks the subs, not me! And that’s all you’re getting, so you need to leave, now.”

“Not until I speak with Stiles.”

“Dad, just get out of here.” Scott growls, having noticed the darkening sky as well. “He isn’t here.”

“Please, just leave.” Melissa says with a frown. “We’re having a private discussion.”

“I’m sorry Melissa, not until I get some answers.” He says, the slightest bit of regret in his eyes. “I need to know why those pictures were important enough to delete, considering they were evidence of the attack on the power plant. I already know some of you were there, so I’m guessing they had to do with the why. Either way, deleting evidence is a federal offense.”

“Even if we told you, you wouldn’t believe us.” Scott says, getting closer, emotions starting to show in his eyes and voice. “You never do. We could tell you the entire truth and you would brush it off as a tall tale, or a cry for attention.”

“Why don’t you try me, just for kicks?”

“Ummm…this may not be the best time.” Ashley says, looking out the window to see a pair of glowing eyes, and not a wolfs. “Everyone stay down here, we may have company, and not the good kind.” Not waiting for an answer she rushes up the stairs and out the front door, just in time to see the rest of the Oni show up, pausing right outside the boundaries of the wards. As they stand there, just watching silently, she hears someone walk up behind her, Scotts dad having followed her back up, the rest of the pack on his heels. “What part of ‘stay down there’ did you not understand? Was it the stay part?”

“You have no authority to tell me to stay anywhere.” He replies, eyeing the Oni and placing a hand on his gun.

“We kinda followed him up.” Scott says a bit sheepishly. “And you really didn’t order us to stay. They…they can’t cross the wards, can they? Are we safe here?”

“We should be. As long as they mean us some kind of harm, they can’t cross, unless they somehow destroy the wards.”

“Wards? What the hell are you talking about, some sorta dungeons and dragons crap? And who are these guys?”

“One of the things Scott said you wouldn’t believe.” She says warily as they edge closer to the wards. Suddenly a body walks by, and before she can react Scotts dad has crossed the ward and taken out his badge. “Oh my fuck what is he doing.”

“Agent McCall, FBI. Wanna tell me why you’re dressed like demon ninjas and stalking the neighborhood?” Ashley internally rolls her eyes, at the same time inching forward to try and grab the idiot and yank him back inside the ward. Before she can, however, the Oni start forward, backhanding the agent when he refuses to move and knocking him into the house, a sickening crunch coming from his arm as he lands on it. Melissa gasps loudly and runs towards him, hauling him upright and leaning him against the house as he groans in pain. The rest of the group backs up until they surround the two of them, Ashley summoning a sword as the Oni test the wards, placing a hand against it to test the strength.

“I don’t know what you want from us, but you’re not getting it!” She says to the Oni loudly, pointing her sword at them. “And you aren’t hurting anyone else here! We’ll stay behind the wards as long as we have to.” The Oni stare at her for a couple of seconds, evilly grinning masks cocked to the side as they contemplate her words.

Then, without any resistance, they cross through the wards.


	11. Silver does it all

Sorry for the delay. I had surgery and was drugged for quite a while, then the holidays came and…well you know.

****************( )****************

"What the hell do you mean let them through? Tell Chris he's clearly lost what good sense he had!" Ashley yells to Melissa as she backs away from the Oni with the rest of her pack, sword in hand as every looks ready to jump into action except, for some odd reason she clearly had no chance to contemplate as she had more pressing matters, the Oni, who seem happy stalking slowly towards them. Chris had called almost the same moment that the Oni had crossed the wards, giving them all advice she clearly had no taste for.

"You tell him!" Melissa forces the phone in her hand and Ashley takes it, never taking her eyes off the demons.

"This better be good Chris, they somehow crossed the wards to the house!"

"It's because they don't actually mean any of you harm. They're trying to find a nogitsune hiding in a host body, and the ones they mark are clear. Please, just don't fight them, they'll mark you and leave."

Ashley glares at the phone, vein throbbing painfully in her forehead, before glancing around at her pack plus two, all of the in various states of nervousness, Scott standing in front of his parents, then back quickly at the Oni before finally answering. "This better go all right, Chris, or I'm coming back to haunt your ass. Every time you sleep, eat, drive, use the bathroom….I'll be there. Understand?"

"I promise, this is the right this to do. And if it does go wrong, I'll deserve any haunting that comes my way. I even promise not to exorcise you."

Grinding her teeth she hangs up and shoves the phone in Melissa's hand once more. "Everyone let them at you. No fighting them, understand? Chris says they won't hurt us, they just want to make sure we don't have a nogitsune hiding inside us, apparantly one is running around."

"What about my dad, they smacked him into a wall! His arm is broken!" Scott exclaims, as confused as everyone else.

"I don't know, Scott, maybe they saw him as an annoyance." She says, dropping her sword reluctantly but keeping it in form. "But Chris says this is the right thing to do. Look, I'll go first, and if they do anything other than put a mark behind my ear, you kick their ass. Hell, call Lucifer and he'll gladly do it for you if he sees me hurt. Deal?" She makes sure they all nod in agreement, before turning to the Oni and glaring at them, stepping forward. The Oni hadn't attacked while they were deliberating, much to their luck, and seemed to be merely watching them for the time being. She slowly moves closer until she stands right in front of them, then looks the middle one in the mask eye holes. "All right. You need to check us, right? Well get it over with, we won't fight you. Well, unless you give us a reason to, that is."

They stare at her for a couple of seconds before all three move forward as one, and she has to stop herself from bringing her blade back up. The two side Oni grab her arms at either side, and the middle one gets up close and seems to stare into her eyes, seemingly scanning her. Not surprisingly the grace seems to not like that, and as her pack looks on her eyes glow not the alpha red but the celestial blue, and both the Oni let go of her as if both shocked by a tazer. The Oni facing her cocks its head to the side, studying her, before stepping back a step then around her, moving on to the rest of the pack. The glow fading from her eyes, leaving her only a bit dizzy, she turns around in confusion and watches as they go up to the other members of her pack, except for Lydia who had already been marked, as well as those not in her pack. One by one they mark each and every one of them before vanishing back into the dark.

****************( )***************

"Why do you think they didn't mark you?" Lydia asks once everyone had finally woken up and headed to either the hospital( Scott and his parents) or home, all except for Lydia. They had already called Chris back to let him know how it went down, and had texted everyone else not there to let them know not to fight the Oni if they appear, but to let them get it over with. Melissa had promised to check on Stiles as well, as he wasn't answering his phone and Ashley was starting to get worried. Both girls were currently sitting in the living room and drinking Coney Island Hard Root beer, as after the past couple of days Ashley thought they deserved them.

Ashley lets out a heavy sigh and takes a swig of her drink. "Probably the grace again, honestly. When the Oni were scanning me, the grace seemed to protest and kind of shocked them. Other than Crowley, it really doesn't care for demons touching me, or anything else really. It's a perk, but yet another reason I need to learn to control the moody thing somehow"

"The passing out, right?" Lydia queries, and Ashley nods her head once. "Considering I just found out I'm a supernatural creature myself, I can relate. A teacher would really come in handy about now, if nothing else so I can stop wandering into murder scenes. Or sleepwalking naked through the woods."

"I bet." Ashley says with a soft grin. "I can ask around, see if I can find you one. Between all of my weird, ethically dubious and mildly violent friends, I'm sure we can find someone."

Lydia laughs out loud. "That's probably the most accurate description of your friends I'll ever hear. Stiles is right, you have a bad habit of adopting bad guys."

"They aren't bad guys…not most of them anyway." She says even as Lydia gives her a skeptic eyebrow raise. "Some of them just had bad lots in life."

"Like your friend the King of Hell?"

Ashley smirks. "Crowley's probably a bit of both to tell the truth. And while I don't condone a lot of his actions, I can't ask him to stop all together, that would probably just unbalance something that could probably make things worse. Just wait until you meet the newest member of the pack though….he's something else. Out of this world even."

Before she can ask the woman to elaborate, her curiosity having been peaked, the front door opens to show a pale faced, still exhausted looking Stiles walking into the house. He spies both of them sitting together and lets out a sigh of relief, closing the door behind him and quickly moving into the living room to plop next to his cousin on the couch. "Thank god or whoever we thank nowadays. Scotts mom told me what happened after waking me up at the hospital, the stupid drugs worked too well. I would have called but my phone's dead. Is everyone other than douche dad ok?"

"Pretty much, yea." She answers hesitantly, looking at his still tired face and remembering the image frozen on the video, and the dark circles under his eyes, the malevolent smirk that was completely unlike his usual self. "Chris told us not to fight them, that the reason the could cross the wards was because they didn't actually mean any of us harm, they just wanted to check and mark us off a list of suspects, basically. We passed their little test and they left."

"How did douche dad get hurt then?"

"Oh, he was an idiot, waving his badge around at them outside the wards and badgering them with questions. I think they found him annoying, so they swatted him away." Lydia answers, finishing her beer and standing up with a stretch and eying them both, hands on hips. "If you don't mind, this has been far too much excitement for me today, of this kind anyway, and I'm heading home for a more enjoyable kind. Have fun with your little talk." Stiles watches confusedly as she saunters out turning to face his cousin as the door shuts behind her.

"Talk? I thought you said everything went fine? Did something happen after all? Whatever it is I didn't do it!"

Ashley stifles the urge to laugh, as under normal circumstances that automatic response of his would have been from his keep out of trouble from something that he actually might have done. The problem this time was that there were two pressing issues, one that may or may not actually be him, and one that, if true, he has no control over. Instead, she sighs and takes one of his hands, squeezing it, making him nervous as he takes in her serious mood. "That…we'll see about that, unfortunately. The night I came back with Tony…were you with Scott and the others all night before I got there? Did you wander off by yourself at all?"

He furrows his brow at her, thinking to that night. "Uh…no…I don't think so? Wait, definitely no. The only time I wasn't with one of the pack, I was making out with a very nice girl who may or may not go for both teams and asked if I was sure that I didn't either. I have no problem finding her for a character witness if I need to."

She breathes a sigh of relief, if only temporary as it meant there was something out there masquerading as her cousin she needed to worry about. "No, that's fine, I believe you. It leaves us with a bigger problem though." Turning on her phone, she brings up the frozen image from the station she had sent to her, and shows it to Stiles. Predictably his face contorts with confusion at his sinister looking doppelganger. "Scotts dad showed this to us before the Oni showed up. I didn't think it was you, but I had to ask."

"So there's something going around that looks like me? Evil, emo looking me?"

"Looks like it." She says, giving his hand another squeeze. "But we can worry about that tomorrow. That's not all I need to talk to you about. Were you told anything at the hospital?"

"Only that I needed to get more sleep and everything should right itself." He said, rolling his eyes with disdain. "That there was too much stress on my system what with all the murders and being a teenager and such. If sleep was the answer I'd be fine, I love sleep, almost as much as I love coffee. The ole teenager and murders excuse is a cop out answer." He cocks his head at her curiously. "Why do you ask, did the hospital give you a different reason?"

"Not the hospital, per say, but Melissa…" Ashley pauses a moment, wanting to try something else before telling him the mothers concerns. "Hold that thought, I wanna bring in another opinion before I worry you." Closing her eyes, she sends a message to Gabriel, hoping he isn't too busy. Moments later the golden haired angel pops into view, looking a bit rumpled.

"Everything ok?" He asks, brushing a bit of dust off his shirt, then snapping away a random splatter of blood on his sleeve.

"I wanted to see if you would do a looksie over Stiles for me, see if you can spot anything off about him. What about you, though, are you ok?"

"What? Oh yea, other than looking over Balthys place, trying to find a lead. All I found instead was a hag rifling through his stuff, tried to claw my hand off when I grabbed her. Nothing I couldn't handle though. So tell me, what's up with ya Teeny Bop?"

"He's not been feeling well lately." Ashley says before Stiles can reply, not wanting to hear the exchange. "The hospital says he's just stressed and in need of sleep, and there's another theory, but I wanted to have you look at him first before I brought it up. Can you please just do a scan?"

"Of course Chicka, no problem at all. Stand up kiddo, let me take a look at ya." Stiles glares skeptically at him for a couple of seconds before coming to his feet and standing in front in front Gabriel, while Ashley stays seated to watch. Gabriel takes two fingers and places them on the teens forehead, concentrating for a moment as his eyes glow slightly, then moving away seconds later with a puzzled look on his face. "You always have the strangest cases for me, you know that? Always something interesting going on. Easing some of your worry though, there's nothing wrong with Teeny bop medically, other than the fact he's a sleep and sex deprived teenager."

"You're sure? Nothing in beginning stages, nothing to worry about in the future?" She asks again, ignoring the jibe about lack of sex and sleep even as Stiles bristles, and both the males look curiously at her. "What? I just want to be sure."

"Like I said, medically wise, he's perfectly healthy." Gabriel assures her, and Ashley can't help but let out a loud sigh of relief, leaning back into the couch heavily. "I take it you were worried something was actually wrong?"

"Yea. Melissa came up to me earlier, worried that Stiles had the same thing his mom died from in the early stages. Some of the symptoms he'd had fit, and I had to check before worrying him." Stiles drops down next to her on the couch, shock written on his face at the news. "I couldn't lose you the same way, Stiles. I thought maybe if it was true, if we caught it in time here, we could stop it. But that you don't actually have it…that's some of the best news I've had today." She smiles at her cousin for a moment before pulling him in for a brief hug. "Guess that means you really do need to sleep more."

"Hmph. If I must."

"Eh, not necessarily." Gabriel says, breaking the moment between the cousins, and they both look expectantly at him. "I said nothing medically is wrong with him. That doesn't include whatever has attached to him like a parasite. Whatever it is, is likely the reason for your issues right now."

Something clicks into place when he says that, and Ashley narrows her eyes. "Would said parasite be able to take on Stiles image?"

"Depending on what kind it is, yea. Why, you have an evil twin running around?"

"Apparently I do." Stiles replies, holding up the image for Gabriel to see. "This guy popped up while I was a rave in Dereks place."

"And what do you wanna bet he's the one the Oni are looking for?" Ashley finishes, a gleam in her eye. "So all we have to do is find this double, gank him, and both of our currant problems go away in one shot. Easy!"

"If it's Oni searching for it, then there must be a kitsune directing them." Gabriel adds in thoughtfully, plopping in the chair next to them. "They use their tails to control and direct Oni, and keep them on their mission. Otherwise you'd see a much bloodier trail being left where ever they go. I would suggest finding the kitsune and talking with it."

"Scotts new…girlfriend I guess…is a kitsune, but I doubt that she's the one, she hasn't know she was one long enough." Stiles throws in. "Maybe one of her parents then? They did just move to town."

"That would be a good place to start, though you might wanna hurry." Gabriel says, popping up a sucker. "The longer that thing is connected to you, the weaker you'll get. It probably has your memories as well, so you'll need to warn everyone to keep an eye out incase you seem off. Come up with some sorta code word or secret handshake and have them make you say it every time they see you. Lucky for you it only has your memories up till the time it split from you, so there's no chance of it sucking it from your brain."

Ashley cocks her head to the side in confusion at his phrasing. "What do you mean split from him? You make it sound like whatever this parasite is, it was literally attached to him at some point."

"From what I sensed, it actually was. It was if the parasite tried to take Teeny Bop over…"

"Please don't call me that." Stiles groans loudly.

Gabriel ignores him, naturally. "..and sensed some sort of block, or protection from taking over completely, so it created your doppelganger and left an invisible thread connected to suck up your life force while it walks around free. Weirder things have happened."

"It was probably the pack mark." Ashley says, looking at the mark on her thumb for a moment. "Crowley mentioned one of the runes represented protection or shielding, so it must have kept this thing from taking completely over. Glad to see it really works."

"That must be why I woke up in the floor the night I started feeling off. I hurt all over, like field practice when Coach is pissed at everyone. Or running anywhere."

"That was probably the night it split from you." Gabriel confirms, tilting his head upwards as if listening to something only he can hear, then rolls his eyes. "And on that note kiddies, I hate to cut this short but big bro Mikey is calling me up for something that will probably make me want to run away again, but work is work. Good luck with your bug, try keeping some silver around." With that he pop off, but surprisingly in his place is a small silver ring.

"Thanks Gabe." Ashley says quietly with a soft smile to herself, then picks up the ring and hands it to Stiles. "Here, put this on."

"Um…ok. Not that I'm against jewelry, but why?"

"Because it's silver, and almost every supernatural creature has an allergic reaction when touching it, instantly and painfully. Not only that, but if we see you without this ring, we know it's not you. We won't ask to see it, we'll just make sure you're wearing it. Just, try not to touch any of our furry friends with it, deal?"

"Deal. No touchy feely with the ring of pain, no taking it off until my parasite is dead, scratch that, no taking it off ever in case something I don't like comes after me. Now if I could find something to cover the rest of me, I'll be close to feeling safe. How about a silver bat?"

"Oh, hush. You'll be fine, we just gotta smush whatever bug's attached to you. But if you really want some kind of silver weapon, you have to show me you can use it right first, which means fight training, and not just for you. Now come on, you're still tired, and going straight to bed, while I text everyone about your new fashion accessory." Ignoring his complaints, she practically drags him upstairs and, after a hot shower, hands him a doctored hot chocolate and shove him in his room. Once she's sure he isn't going to try to escape, she heads to her own room, having told everyone the situation and wanting some rest of her own.

That, of course, happens much later than she plans, and she spends a great deal of time on her tablet trying to find out what the thing attached to Stiles was. There were several things that partially matched the symptoms, but nothing exactly matched up, and it irritated her. Jarvis even ran a scan for her, but nothing fit. Of course, if it had to split because of the pack mark that probably changed things, so she planned on talking to Kira's parents to find out what exactly the Oni had been searching for, if they did know anything.

Before she can go to sleep, however, Chris call back, having just gotten back into town and wanting to share his findings with her. The findings just happened to include an answer to what the Oni were seeking, which was, unfortunately, a nogitsune. That news frankly worried her, as a nogitsune from her findings was a dark, chaotic thing that fed off of negative feelings and thrived on the violent acts it created. Not only that, but if that was the thing attached to Stiles then it was more vital than ever for them to remove it from the picture, as the Oni would kill him to kill their prey, and the Oni themselves can't be killed by man made weapons, at least according to Chris. She was fairly sure she could kill them with the angel blade, but the others wouldn't be as lucky, and she couldn't be around everyone all the time.

Because of this, she made plans with Chris to start training everyone right away. Every day after school she would have the pack and extras come to the house and be taught the best ways to use their strengths to their advantage, and to use any weapons on hand to better defend themselves. Something irked at the back of her mind though, and she had to bring it up to the hunter.

"Chris, I thought you said you had killed one of the Oni by shooting its mask and shattering it. How does that match the whole Oni cant be killed by man made weapons? Were there special bullets or something?"

Silence for a moment. "You know, you're right, I never thought of that till now. The only thing I can think of is that they were silver bullets. All our guns were armed with them because of what we normally were shooting at. Do you think that might be the answer?"

"All we can do is hope, I guess. My blade is a kill all, but we might want to scrounge up some more silver weapons for the others. No guns for Stiles until we've let him practice a bit though...maybe his request for a silver bat isn't too far fetched."

"It's too bad silver hurts the wolves as much as everyone else, we can't arm them with anything. Unless…maybe we could make them some silver knuckles that are padded and guarded on the inside and anywhere that touches their skin, that way they can still use their strength and attack."

"We need to make sure silver actually works first, then we can go on to stuff like that. Did Silverfinger give you anything else of use?"

"Only what the scroll he kept with him said, about how to destroy the nogitsune. All it said was to 'change the host', whatever that means."

"Hmmm, no clue. Look, I'm planning on meeting with Kiras dad tomorrow after school, ask him if he knows anything about the Oni, and with that the nogitsune. Want to come? Two heads are better than one after all, and if he doesn't like me asking questions…"

"Got it, I'll be there. After your class good?"

"Make it ten minutes before school ends, that way we can catch him at the end of his class so he can't leave. After that we can meet everyone here and start training."

"Pardon me Miss Roeswood if I may." JARVIS suddenly interrupted, startling the two. "Pertaining to your training the teens, I have informed Miss Romanoff and Mister Barton of your predicament, and they both are willing to offer their services in helping to train your pack. As you well know, both are quite the expert in marksmanship and hand to hand, as well as other weapons. SHIELD free, of course."

"I…really? That would actually be great. No offense Chris, but those two kick some serious ass, even if Clint is a major smartass. Ugh, him and Stiles will probably get along swimmingly. Tell them yes, JARVIS, I gladly accept."

"Gladly. Mister Stark was planning a trip here anyway to look over the land he bought and start making plans to clear it, the others will come along with him. It will also be a good opportunity to come together and finalize plans for the home, including any extras you believe are needed. Expect them in 1-3 days."

"Thank you JARVIS." Ashley replied, ending the conversation. "Well, plan on things getting a lot more exciting. I would say they could have picked a better time, but honestly there's never a good time in this stupid town."

"In my opinion, more to help train is never a bad thing, as long as they already know what to expect. This Stark, he's the one who bought the Hale properties?"

"And all the surrounding land as well I'm pretty sure. He's turning it into a supernaturally affected children's home, and Derek's going to be in charge of security once it's finished. He wants me to run the home, and it will be a sanctuary for the pack if they need it. By the time he's done, it will be the most protected place in the world, or close anyway."

"That's…actually a great idea. And you're the perfect person for that job."

"Thanks. Oh, and Derek wants you there when he meets with Tony to discuss what the home might need in case he misses something, security measures, that sort of thing. You've got a wider range of knowledge than Derek when it comes to different supes, so it's a smart idea."

"I'll be glad to. For now we should probably stop for now and go to bed, we both have big days tomorrow and you have to go back to school. I'll tell Allison about the silver ring. She's going to be over the moon about a female fighter helping her train."

"That's for sure, and I'm telling you now, Lydia is going to have a case of serious hero worship. But yea, goodnight Chris."

"Goodnight."

The last thing Ashley saw before turning off her phone was a text from Chris. *When this is over, when we finally have a free chance, I'd like to take you on a real date. No Winchesters, wolves, kids, jealous exes or creatures trying to kill us. Think about it.*

She was smiling as she fell to sleep, but conflicted. Considering their luck, this town would never see a break. And she still had yet to run into Peter, which meant no Arthur yet. How on earth would that conversation go? Peter would likely try and convince her that the wards were wonky again, and smooth talk her into giving him another chance. As much as she'd like to believe that were true, she trusted Crowleys work, even with the Oni getting through. It just wasn't a good idea to open that can of worms unless he could prove without a doubt he no longer meant Scott harm, and even then it was iffy.

Plus she had to take into account Dereks feelings. Frankly she was beginning to wonder if dating at all right now was a smart idea if she wanted to keep the peace between everyone. Wolves were highly territorial after all, and she fully expected Peter to react badly if she dated either of the other men. As long as he has Arthur, that was dangerous.

Sighing, she covered her face with her blankets and wondered when her dating life went from nothing it all to shitstorm.


	12. In which there is much talking and stalking

"Mr. Yukimura?"

The man looks up in surprise at the sight of the young music teacher peeking through his door. He pauses from straightening up all the papers on his desk and glances at her quizzically. "Yes Miss Roeswood, can I help you? Kira hasn't done anything, has she?"

"No, not at all, Kira is very polite young lady. Do you mind if we come in? I need to ask a couple of questions, and they are a bit private."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise he simply nods, eyes widening at the man that follows her in, eyes ice blue and calculating. After closing the door behind her, they both walk over and stand in front of his desk, and he can't help but feel a bit worried. As if sensing the mood change, Ashley gives him a comforting smile, eyes warm and welcoming in comparison to the man beside her. "Relax, this isn't a full on interrogation, we just have a couple of questions you can probably answer, like I said. It does have a bit to do with Kira, but not in a bad way, or at least not yet. It will probably save a couple of lives as well." When he doesn't say anything, she sighs and continues. "You do know Kira's a kitsune, right?" The way his face panics for a brief second, hands tightening on his arm rests, answers for him. "That's what I figured. Do you remember how a couple of days ago she started asking weird questions? I asked her to because we were attacked by a trio of demon ninjas."

Mr. Yukimura stares blankly at her for a couple of seconds, still gripping the sides of his chair, before finally releasing it and putting his face in his hands. "This is so much easier with my wife around, she's much more intimidating than I am. How exactly do you know this? And what's with the bodyguard?"

Ashley ignores the snort that comes Chris, fighting a smile of her own. "Chris is here as my partner in crime you might say. As to how we know, I'm constantly around wolf shifters who can who can see her aura, and as an Alpha I can see it as well when I focus on it. And your daughter might be kinda dating a member of my pack. Did I mention the demon ninjas who attacked us?"

"And do you know anything about the nogitsune running around town?" Chris adds in, watching the man squirm.

Said man opens his mouth a couple of times, as if trying to decide what to say, before closing it and pulling out his phone. "This isn't my area of expertise, as much as I wish it was. Do you mind if I call my wife for this little talk? I'm pretty sure she needs to be here if you want to talk Oni and Nogitsune." Ashley and Chris share a quick glance before nodding, letting the man call his wife before he settles back in his chair, tapping his foot as they sit in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally..."So, you said Kira is dating a member of your pack? Does that mean Scott is a werewolf? Not that I care, mind you, I'm just glad she's making friends. Apparantly more than friends."

"Yes, Scott is the werewolf in question, and she's been making friends with entire pack, she just seems a bit shy when you first meet her. And considering your daughter is a fox spirit, it would be kinda hypocritical for you to care Scott is a wolf, no offense."

"None taken, it's just that the fox and the wolf generally don't get along, though there are exceptions. Usually they manage to tolerate each other, but that's about it. For her to be making friends with an entire pack of them is practically unheard of."

"Well, my packs the pretty accepting sort, especially considering they aren't actually all wolves."

He cocks his head to the side in confusion. "How is that possible? Isn't a pack created by an alpha biting others and creating more wolves?"

"In normal circumstances, yes." Chris says, checking his phone before sticking it back in his pocket. "But she's hardly normal." Ashley throws him a glare, and he shrugs, chuckling. "What? I don't mean it as an insult, and you know it's true. Your life is hardly normal, and neither is your pack."

"I would argue with you, but honestly I can't think of any." She says, glare lessoning, and she turns back to Mr. Yukimura. "Yes, there's several wolves in the pack, but there's also a banshee, three humans, myself, which is a whole different can of worms, and a frost giant." That last part causes both men to gape wordlessly at her. "That's kind of a story for another time, but I will tell you later." She says to Chris, and he nods in acceptance.

"I still don't understand how you can have a pack of more than wolves." Mr. Yukimura says, still confused.

"It's because she's a human alpha." Says a cool, feminine voice from behind them, and Ashley turns to see a stern looking woman closing the door and locking it, before walking over to the group and standing beside her husband, placing a hand on his shoulder lightly as she stares down the two in front of them. "I haven't seen one in a very long time, but I remember the aura. His was straight warrior, however…from you I sense both the warrior and protector. Now, I believe you had some questions? I don't promise to answer them all, but considering you came straight to us you must already know a few things."

"Straight to the point then, I can do that." Ashley says, a bit glad for the woman's bluntness. "Ok then. Do the Oni belong to you?"

She doesn't even blink. "Yes."

"Are they searching for a nogitsune?"

She stiffens a bit, but nods. "Yes, they are. How exactly did you know that? "

"When the Oni attacked the first time, I recognized them from an old job with the Yakuza." Chris explains, as alert and rigid as Mrs. Yukimura. "I killed one of them before it could attack the remaining person in their group, and went to question him about why it attacked in the first place. That's how I knew to have them remain calm and let the Oni look them over, get the marking over with. He said they were searching for a nogitsune."

"My pack has already been attacked twice that I know of, and most of them have been marked. What happens when they find this nogitsune?"

"Most of your pack? Why not all?"

Ashley aims a scowl at the woman. "My answer first. I want to know what you plan on doing to it once you find it."

"My Oni will come find me, and bring me to the nogitsune." She answers, not intimidated by the scowl coming from the much younger woman. "I'll then kill it. If it's not stopped, it will cause untold amounts of pain and chaos. I apologize if it has possessed a member of your pack, but I will have to kill it, no matter the host."

Ashley feels like throttling the older woman as her anger rises, and she almost comes to her feet to retort back. How dare she threaten not only her cousin, but member of her pack! Sure, she had done it in the calmest, mildest way possible, but the threat was there none the less and she wouldn't soon forget it. Luckily, Chris was far more experienced with keeping a cool head than her. "And what if the person isn't possessed, per say, but merely connected and sharing a likeness? What would our options be then?"

Mrs. Yukimura looks at him curiously, narrowing her eyes at the question. Her husband stays quiet, probably knowing better than to interrupt unless he had something truly important to add in. "Hypothetically speaking, if the double was killed instead of the host, the bond would be broken and the host would be released no further harm done, except for the need to regain his lost life force that the nogitsune took from him. However, not only would it take more and more life force the longer they stay connected, it is actually harder to kill the nogitsune in that situation. Death of the host is still on the table however for the quickest victory."

"Death of the host is DEFINITELY not on the table!" Ashley growls at the woman, who finally shows a bit of emotion at the reaction, and she curses to herself.

"So it is a member of your pack then. Perhaps a friend of Kira as well? I notice she hasn't been as uncomfortable around here lately."

"Crap." Ashley mutters under her breath, automatically going to pet a furry head that isn't there anymore and stopping herself, gripping her knee instead and squeezing, wishing she had kept her calm. Sighing, she takes a deep breath and tries to relax, reminding herself that she had came for answers after all, and she would have to release some of her own in order the complete picture. "Fine, but know there is no way in hell I'll let you kill any member of my pack, no matter if it's easier, got it? The nogitsune tried to possess my cousin Stiles not too long ago, but my pack mark luckily prevented it from taking over completely, so it separated off into a body double and has apparantly been causing some trouble. We only know because we saw a screenshot of his double in the police station at the same time Stiles was somewhere else surrounded by people. He's also been feeling off since the split, so I know its already taking his life force slowly."

"If you allow us, we'd like to help instead of getting in your way. Between our two groups surely we can find and stop it before it can cause any more damage." Chris adds in, still a pillar of calm. "I will warn you that if you decline our offer and try to kill Stiles anyway, or cause the harm of any of her pack, she can do more harm to you than you might think, and has some very powerful friends who can make your life a very literal hell." Ashley glances over at this, a bit surprised to see a tiny smirk on his face that doesn't quite fit the hard glint in his eyes. "So think hard about your answer, because to continue to share information between us can only be beneficial, and afterwards we could continue to be allies."

This gets another show of emotion from the woman, and Ashley sees her eyes flash gold for a moment, showing a tinge of anger. "Is that a threat?"

"Threat, warning, offer, however you want to take it I mean every word. However, you can't say that having a human alpha as an ally would be a bad thing, especially one who is already on friendly terms with your newly discovered as a kitsune daughter, and has tried to protect her from your Oni who attacked her along with the rest of her friends."

Mrs. Yukimura glares at the two of them as they all stare silently at one another, before her husband startles them all by placing his hand gently over the one gripping his shoulder, his eyes warm and comforting. "Honey, I know you consider this your own personal mission, but a little help certainly can't hurt, right? If anything, they're less likely to hurt civilians that accidently get in the way. I can even see her point, how would you feel if someone told you that Kira had to die, even though there was another way to save her?"

"That's completely different." She snaps at her husband testily.

"Is it? I for one would try any other options I had before sentencing my daughter to death, no matter what the reason, and I cannot blame them for feeling the same. I also have a feeling Kira would fight for them, even if it meant fighting against you. Do you really want that?" When his wife doesn't answer he gives her a gentle smile. "Lets give them a chance. They did come to us, after all, so they're obviously intelligent enough to figure some things out on their own, and considering her family member has been affected in the first place, they deserve answers past what questions they're asking."

"Fine." She finally answers much to Ashley and Chris's relief, who had been watching the exchange curiously. "I might not like it, but I suppose you're right." She pulls a chair up beside her husband and sits, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them back up, staring at the two intensely. "Before I start, you should know I'm much older than I look…I'm actually 900 years old. As a celestial or light kitsune, my lifespan is greatly enhanced, as Kira's likely will be as well, if she so chooses."

"I'm a human by the way." Her husband throws in cheerfully. "Plain and simple. I just happened to catch her eye in college and the rest was history. She loves my brain."

"I love more than that about you, you silly little man." She mutters under her breath, and Ashley can't help but chuckle. "In 1943, I was locked in an internment camp for Japanese Americans called Oak Creek. There I fell in love with a Corporal named Rhys, who would look away while I stole food and medicine for all my fellow prisoners. However, after a riot that ensued from finding out a doctor had been stealing and selling the medicine actually meant for us all, I ended up getting shot several times, which even with my healing abilities left me extremely weak. While I was left healing, Rhys was very badly burned all over his body, then shot at the Eichen House."

Chris breaks in with a frown. "Do you mean the mental institution here? That Eichen House?"

"The very same. I've been trying to find a way inside to check the area out, but no luck so far."

"If you tell me what to look for, I might be able to get inside and look for you." Ashley offers. "I have friends who are experts at sneaking inside places and not getting caught."

"I'm not sure how you could succeed where I failed, but if you insist I will accept the attempt. Back to my tale for now, however. As I was being dragged off with the other corpses to be burnt, hiding the evidence, I prayed to my ancestors to send a nogitsune to take over my body, not caring what would happen to it by that time and simply wanting my revenge. To my infinite regret it took over Rhys's body instead, and proceeded to kill everyone in the camp and Eichen House, bar a spare few supernaturals who managed to get away. I'm still not sure how at the time, but I managed to kill him and trap his spirit into the body of a fly, then further trap him under the Nematon. With everything that happened with the Darach, I assume it escaped its prison and now finds itself free to cause havoc once more. That's why I see it as my duty to finally end its reign, considering I started it in the first place."

There is a terse silence as everyone absorbs the entirety of her story, with Mrs. Yukimura looking down at the floor in shame. "That might have been the case before." Ashley finally says with a frown, glancing over at Chris for a second to gage his reaction, which looked to match hers. "But the moment it tried to possess my cousin it became my problem too. And you may think being a 900 year old kitsune gives you some sort of superior advantage, but my pack's no slouch either, and we can hold our own, even if it is comprised of mainly teenagers."

"Teenagers who aren't trained fighters, who are ruled by their emotions. Who may hesitate in their duty simply because the nogitsune looks like your cousin and their friend."

What the hell is with this woman? "We're working on the training, I have a couple of friends coming in to help out who are experienced in that sort of thing, and Chris here knows his stuff as well. And yes, they will probably hesitate a bit, but that just means they aren't heartless bastards. Does Kira know how to fight?"

Mrs. Yukimura sniffs at her. "I've taught her to use the katana since she was a girl. It's tradition in my family."

"Good, then she's a step ahead of the game." Ashley beams to the kitsunes confusion. "The others are going to start on hand to hand and basic weapons, and Allison's got experience with bows already, she'll just be fine tuned more. We're trying to teach the wolves how to best use their strength and speed, and the humans to defend and fight against opponents stronger and faster than themselves. Luckily I have friends willing to help us out. So do we have a deal?" The change in pace clearly throws the kitsune off, and after a moment she gives a brief, curt nod. "Great! Now that we have that awfulness out of the way, I only have a couple more questions. I know silver works on most supes, as well as your little Oni. Does it work on the nogitsune?"

"It can injure it, and silver chains will keep it in place, but silver cannot kill it." She replies, ignoring the jab at her Oni, though it looks like her husband has to hide a smirk. "The only thing that can kill it is my katana since I summoned it, and only then after it has been weakened."

"Hmmm…ok then, so we only have two weapons capable of killing it." She says thoughtfully to herself, not noticing the way the kitsunes eyes rise up into her forehead.

*******************( )*********************

The rest of the meeting passed quickly after that, Ashley getting the details of what exactly to look for at the Eichen House before getting out of there, worried the tolerance between the two women wouldn't stand too much more strain considering the interactions so far. She actually reminded her a lot of Michael in his high and mighty phase, complete with condescending voice and I know better than you attitude, only without the male vessel. It seriously took most of her willpower not to smack the look off of the kitsunes face when she said matter of factly that it would be easier for everyone just to kill Stiles, yet another sign of the lack of Gwaines calming presence. Chris must have been able to tell, because instead of heading straight home, he drove to the closest Starbucks and got them both a drink, then parked at the forest park close to where the Sanctuary was to be built and sat at a bench with her, both sipping their drinks in silence.

Ashley watched as a young couple pushed their toddler on the swing set, before chasing him around the plastic castle merrily. It brought a smile to her face, and she wondered if Tony would be up for building a tree house fort for the kids along with the actual home. Of course, knowing him it would be less wood and more machine eyesore, unless she talked to the builders herself. Or, better yet, have Pepper make sure it would be kid friendly if still completely awesome, with plenty of escape routes and places to keep their secrets. Every kid needs a fort, as well as a place to keep their treasures, heaven knows she had plenty when she was younger. She had collected pretty stones and bird feathers, her interest peaked when her middle school took a trip to the diamond mines and let them all dig, keeping whatever they found. She had filled her lunchbox to the brim that day, sticking the largest and clearest in her windowsill so that it would reflect when the sun shone through it. The rest she hid away in her treehouse, in a strange nest of stones and colorful feathers that constantly seemed to grow, a nest which was now in a box and stashed away in a storage building.

Anyone who knew her would probably accuse her of collecting strays now, though she honestly didn't see it that way. Strays, misfits, the abandoned and the lost, she would most likely see them all as orphaned kittens that need to be adopted into the family, not taking into account how dangerous they could probably be. Hell, at this point half of her pack was that way, including those not actually in yet but still considered family. Crowley, Lucifer and Loki were three very good examples of this. No matter how dangerous they were, she treated them the same way she did the hellhound puppies, just with less baby talk and cuddling. Well except for Lucifer, and in her defense she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

That wasn't likely to change anytime soon, however, especially with Tony building the Home and all. Soon she'd be in charge of a whole house full of strays that would need some sort of stable home life, and that's without factoring in their individual needs depending on their situations. Hopefully she would be able to make their lives a little bit better, get them adopted to a good family, and keep all the dumb shit that seems to constantly happen in Beacon Hills away from them. One problem at a time though.

"What are you thinking about? The way you're concentrating it must be pretty important."

Ashley looks over at him, having not realized she was focusing so hard, and gives him a tired little grin. "Not really. I was thinking about treehouses to tell the truth."

"I…what?"

She laughs at his confusion, finally feeling better from the meeting earlier thanks to the combined efforts of coffee and a little quiet outside. "Yea, I know it sounds weird. I was watching that family run around the castle jungle gym, and started thinking about having some sort of treehouse fort built at the Home for the kids to play in, hide little treasures, stuff like that. I had one when I was a kid , and played on it almost everyday until a tornado blew the tree it was connected to down and it wasn't safe anymore." She finishes off her drink and tosses it in the trash, watching the family pick up their son and put him in the car, driving away. "Kids need a place to go, some place they can call their own. Especially if they don't feel they belong anywhere." She gives him a sideways glace. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

Chris takes a sip of his own drink, considering her question. "I never had a treehouse or a fort. Never really had much of a childhood for that matter, too busy learning the family business. I can see how having one would be appealing, though, especially to a child, supernatural or not, with no home. So yes, I think it's a good idea."

She turns to face him fully, contemplating him. "I keep forgetting that not even you had a normal childhood. Did you get to be a kid at all?"

"I did until I was about 7, after that I started my training. And even before then my father wasn't really the affectionate sort. My mother was, but she wasn't allowed to coddle me. I promised myself Allison would be able to have the childhood I never was, which is why she didn't know anything about the hunter life until Kate told her. After all, you saw how Kate turned out…I didn't want that for my daughter."

"You did a good job with her." Ashley tells him gently, patting his leg at seeing his downcast expression. "She's polite, and brave, intelligent, loyal…and a hell of a good shot. Kate and your dad may have tried to mess with her but they seriously failed, and you can tell by talking with her she's had a good life, even if she ended up moving waaay too much. If you worry about it, just…remind her you love every once in a while. Take her out for a father daughter day, something either you know she likes, or that you like to do together."

"I'll do that. I know she misses going out and doing things with her mother though, as well as Kate even though she turned out to be crazy. Things I can't really do with her, like spa days, manicures, that sort of thing. She does like to go shooting though, and I know she enjoyed going on the mission to find Silverfinger with me."

"You don't want to go on a spa day with her? Facials and massages soft cotton robes?" She jokes, wringing a smile out of him. "Because I can see you with cucumbers over your eyes and a mud mask, sipping champagne."

"Peter yes, me no." He jokes right back, regretting it a bit when he sees her smile falter. "What about you though? Think I could convince you to take her out on a day like that? Maybe bring Lydia along? I'm sure all of you could use a good day of relaxation, and I would be willing to pay for it since you'd be doing me a favor."

"I suppose I could sacrifice a day of my time to do you a favor." She says with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "I haven't had one since we helped Sam and Dean out with that Succubus and Incubus, though part of that was kinda awful because of the waxing and tweezing. Everything else was nice though. Crowley definitely has good taste in venues. And clothes." At the mention of that little mission Chris goes red, still feeling guilty over what happened, and this time the sigh is real. "Hey, don't be like that. We're both adults, remember? It's not our fault Dean didn't bother to get all the information from Cas before we signed on, and if we hadn't killed them off, they would have kept sucking the life energy out of all their victims. At least we made sure the room was sealed so the excess lust couldn't escape, can you imagine if it had spread to Sam and Dean? They never would have recovered from something like that."

"It doesn't make me like what happened, how it happened, any more." He says in an angry tone. "It was tantamount to rape, even if we did both feel an attraction to one another. It should have happened on our terms if it happened at all. The Winchesters owe both of us big time and you know it."

"And we'll eventually collect. The point is that it did happen, though, and other than the way it happened I think it did us both some good. Sometimes you just have to let loose, you know? Think of it this way….what did we learn from the mission?"

He finally loosens the grip he had on the table, anger melting from his gaze. "Always make sure you have all the information from everyone before going in, in case someone is an idiot and stopped listening. Always have a backup plan. Trust your partner."

"And trust the demon helping you out as long as his name is Crowley." She says, grinning. "Crowley found out what we missed, stopped the boys from opening the door and releasing the excess lust, and made sure I was properly prepared for the mission looks wise. He even gave us the charm to seal the room. The angel was the clueless one."

"He did seem a bit…off." Chris admitted with a smile, finishing off his drink and tossing it in the trash. "At least compared to your other two friends. Is he always like that?"

"All of them have their little quirks, but yea. Cas is still learning how to act around people and not be a straight soldier, Gabe spent centuries on earth doing his own thing and staying under heavens radar, and Luci was trapped in a cage for who knows how long with only himself as company, he's technically doing really well for someone who at one point wanted all of humanity killed." They sit in silence for a couple of minutes, watching the sky slowly change colors, all sorts of thoughts running through both their minds as they contemplate the conversation so far in a strange type of awkwardness for two people who had been as close as they had been, even if it was for a mission. "So, this Eichen house. Think we should make our way in tomorrow and look for what Yukimura described? Might as well get it out of the way while it's fresh on our minds."

"Might as well." He says, glad to break the silence and move on. "Any ideas?"

"A couple. I thought I might use Stiles and his faux mental problems to our advantage. I say we go in with Stiles, saying we were looking for a place to help him with some of his issues, and ask for a tour to see if it's the right place for us. I'll take the tour with Stiles, distracting them, while you sneak around and get a look at everywhere else. Better you than one of the wolves, they're about as sneaky as a sack full of jingle bells. What do ya think?"

"It's actually a pretty good plan. She mentioned the basement, so I might start there first. I recommend telling Melissa McCall about our plan, so they can call her if we need a reference, as well as the sheriff in case they ask why you're taking Stiles instead of him."

"Good idea, if he's at work all the time he wouldn't be able to make time to take him. I'll talk to Stiles tonight, and as soon as my class in over tomorrow we'll go ahead and go, say he had an episode so we left early. That ok with you?"

"Not like I have anything else to do except for hunt for this nogitsune and figure out what it means by to change it." He pauses for a second, then. "Do you know when Stark and the others will be here?"

"Hmm? Oh, he said this weekend, so they'll probably be here Friday afternoon. He wants to start the construction as soon as possible, which means meeting up with you and Derek as soon as possible to finalize plans. I'm pretty sure he wants to start clearing the land while he's here. I have no idea how long Natasha and Clint plan on staying though, all I know is what you do, that they're helping to train."

Chris gives a wan smile. "It will be nice to have a couple more adults around to help with that, no matter how brief it is. I'm good to train them, but obviously can't give the one on one time they'll most likely need. I'm lucky enough that Allison took to long range weapons as well as she did, so she won't need quite as much, but the others.."

"They need as much help as they can get." She finishes for him, before looking up at the sky and frowning. It was starting to get dark, and even if they knew the Oni wouldn't be coming after them any more now that they were nearly all marked, it was still dangerous to be out. "Better head back to the house, I need to talk to Stiles and Uncle John about tomorrow. Not only that, but he needs to know we'll be having some visitors this weekend, last thing I need is for him to come home and see a couple of strangers beating up on the pack and overreact." Chris agrees and they both get up from the bench and head towards the car, neither noticing Peter watching them from the woods, Arthur in his arms suckling down a meal, keeping him quiet. He continues to watch as they drive away, before walking to the swing set and placing Arthur in the baby seat, taking the bottle from him and pushing him softly in it, eyes glowing an angry blue as he tries to calm down from seeing Argent sit next to the woman that belongs to him, his mate. She may reject it for now, but for that brief time period he was sure that she felt it as well as he did.

Arthur gurgles happily in the swing and Peter gives him another push, eyes narrowing in contemplation. As long as he has the shifter, she would have to come visit eventually, to make sure Arthur was still being treated well. He would just have to turn up the charm and convince her there was a reason the wards reacted as they did, beyond him meaning Scott harm. Not that it was wrong, he would eventually need to kill Scott to get his alpha status back, and once he was an alpha once more she would realize how deserving of it he was. Until then he would just need to bide his time and take care of the shifter.

She would come to her senses eventually. In the meantime, he would need to ensure that she and Argent didn't become any closer.


	13. You did What?

Ashley and Stiles sat on a couch in a small waiting room of Eichen House waiting for the woman to come back from checking their references, Stiles’s leg bouncing up and down like crazy, a torture for someone as hyperactive as he was. As creepy as the house was from the outside, so far it wasn’t too bad on the inside, if a bit cold, and so far the way in had been surprisingly easy. Perhaps Mrs. Yukimura just didn’t use enough charm while trying to get in. Chris had drove in with them, but disappeared around the back before they went in so he could look around while they took the tour. Stiles looked a tiny bit better than he had, but still peaky enough to help push their story through, and was currently typing away at his phone at a quickfire pace, likely to Scott, while she in turn was keeping contact with Chris to make sure he made it around alright.

“Miss Roeswood? Mr. Stiles?” They both look up to see the woman who had left them there while she went to call Mrs. McCall, most likely a nurse, opening the door back up with a large a smile, one she likely perfected working the social aspect of the hospital. “Everything checked out just fine. I hope you would still like to have that tour?”

Ashley gives a large smile, standing up and pulling Stiles up with her, hoping he can keep up the act. “We would, thank you. His father has heard many good things about your work here, but since he’s been so busy lately he asked me to look around for him, with Stiles of course, to see if it’s right for him. We’ve been so worried about him lately.” She says, patting the teen in question on the shoulder with a sympathetic glance, giving it a tight squeeze. Luckily Stiles gets the message, and puts a pained look on his face.

“Half the time I feel fine, but I’m so tired of the hallucinations, the night terrors, and…uh, the paranoia. I just want to find someplace to help me.”

The act must work, because the nurse looks at him sympathetically. “Of course you are, and we’d very much like to be the place to give you the help that you need. If you’ll follow me, then we’ll start the tour. Most of our non dangerous patients are out and about on the grounds right now, so you’ll get a chance to see them as well. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.” She opens the door wide, and both of them follow her through it, both ready to keep an eye out for anything that might be of interest, not really expecting to get much else out of the tour.

**************( )****************

“What the hell?” Stiles yelled from the ground, holding his jaw where he had been punched while a familiar looking woman herded everyone else away, throwing them a sharp glance. The girl who had punched him in the first place stood there still glaring down at him while Ashley helped him up from the ground. “What was that for? Didn’t we save your life?”

“Save my life? You ruined it! Do you know how hard it is, going from being a coyote for years, only to be forced back into a world you remember nothing about? “

“I take it you know her?” Ashley asks curiously as Stiles continues to rub his jaw. “Because from that reaction she certainly knows you, if not in a good way. What did you do to her?”

“Nothing bad! Her name is Malia, she was trapped in coyote form, and her dad was laying traps all over the woods for her thinking she was the reason his family was killed. Scott managed to howl at her and knock her out of coyote form, and the last we saw her she was reuniting with her dad. What happened?”

“I couldn’t adapt well enough for him, and he thought something was wrong with me, so he stuck me in here to see if they can figure it out.” Malia says bitterly. “Luckily for me they can’t find much of anything wrong, other than anger issues. Who are you supposed to be?”

“Me? I’m his cousin, Ashley. Hey, since you’ve been here, have you noticed any place here that seems strange, out of place? Maybe seems cold when it shouldn’t, smells like sulphur, strange symbols, that sort of thing?” Stiles gives her a bewildered look and she shrugs, not bothered. “What? We’re doing an investigation, and you getting punched doesn’t change that. Dean’s gotten punched plenty of times…usually by women as well…so that’s no excuse.”

Malia looks at them both strangely. “Umm, the basement smells like death, but not sulphur..and there’s sometimes a chill coming from it…why do you ask? And what investigation?”

Ashley looks around to make sure no one is paying attention, then talks to the girl in a low voice. “There’s an evil spirit walking around in a meat suit, and he originally died here in the Eichen House. We’re trying to figure out if there’s anything weird still going on around here. If we can catch it, we save my cousins life, so we’re looking at everything.”

“An evil spirit? In a meat suit?”

“I know it sounds strange but it’s true. Besides, you’re apparantly a were coyote so you have no room to talk.”

Malia seems to think about it for a second and nods silently in agreement. “You’ve probably got a point. Well, good luck.”

The girl makes to turn and leave, but Ashley grabs her arm before she can, stopping her with a frown as she sees the tour nurse talking to the woman who pulled everyone away from across the courtyard. “Wait a minute. You said they’re letting you out soon, right? What will your dad do when you still haven’t really adapted to how he wants?”

Malia glares at her. “What does it matter to you?”

“Call it a bad habit.” Ashley answers, but doesn’t clarify.

“No clue. Either he deals, or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t…well, I’ve lived for years by myself, I’ll be fine. Not like I can tell him where I really was all these years.” She says this with more than a touch of bitterness, and Ashley can’t help but wince at her tone.

“Well, since you blame Scott and Stiles anyway, why don’t you let us help? I have a pack full of teenage werewolves and everything else in between, surely between all of us we can help you adapt? We know where you were, and you don’t have to hide anything from us. There’s no reason for you to be alone, and if you need one we can find you a place to stay.”

Malia stares at her, not quite believing what she’s hearing. “You’re kidding, right? Your entire pack would agree to this?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m their alpha, and if I want to help someone, we’re gonna help someone. If anything, you can stay in the Refuge once it’s built, and believe me when I say that you will have any kind of help you might want or need their, be it schoolwork or help fitting in. Just, promise to think about it once you get out.” 

Malia stares at them both for another couple of seconds before giving a curt nod and stalking off, just in time for the nurse that had been leading them around the thirty minutes before the little scuffle broke out to come back, face apologetic. “I’m so sorry! Malia has a few anger issues but she’s usually much better than this!”

Ashley glances at her phone for a moment before looking back up at the nurse with a pacifying smile. “It’s perfectly fine, really, and not completely her fault. Her and Stiles knew each other outside Eichen House, and their friendship was…rocky. She apologized before you came back. I do think that’s enough excitement for one day, though.”

The nurse’s face falls a bit. “I understand. I do hope you don’t think ill of us for letting Stiles be hit in the first place, I can promise you that it’s not something that happens often here.”

“It’s not that, really, and I’m looking forward to seeing Malia again when she’s released, so please don’t punish her for it. It’s just that we’ve both been busy at school today before we came to visit, and I promised to get him back in time to get his homework done.”

She steps on Her cousins foot at that, causing him to start and jump in. “Oh yea, definitely. I have homework out the ass to do, they don’t like giving us much of a breather. Calculus, an essay on Hitler and his little shorts, and reading the complete Iliad by tomorrow. Plus whatever grueling exercise my dear cousin has planned for before dinner, you know, good health and all that jazz. So, you know, we probably need to go.” The nurse frowns at that, likely not understanding half of it, but nods and leads them out none the less. Neither of them relax until they’re out, the door closed behind them, and Stiles visibly slumps in relief. “Thank someone, I got creepy vides the entire time we were in there.”

“That bad huh?” A voice behind them says lightly, and Ashley can’t help but laugh at the undignified shriek that comes out of her cousins mouth, clutching at his chest like a lifeline. She glances back to see a dusty Chris smirking as he walks behind them, automatically walking around to the drivers side. “What did I say?”

“Give a guy some warning why don’t ya!” Stiles practically yells, glaring at Chris over the car top.

“Oh calm down, you, knew he was leaving with us. I mean, he came with us after all.” Ashley said, rolling her eyes and climbing into the front passenger seat, the other two following behind. As they start moving on, she glances in the rear facing mirror and grins at the still pouting Stiles in the backseat, before turning to the dust and grime covered hunter. “So, find anything good? From the look of it you were burrowing around someplace pretty old. Let me guess, the basement was a jackpot?”

“If by jackpot, you mean I found I beat down an old looking wall with symbols on it and found a skeleton wrapped in bandages holding a photo, then yes.”

“Whoah, really?”

“Yea. I tight wrapped it the best I could, and stuffed it into my expanding duffle bag. I figure we could salt and burn the remains to see if it does anything, and if not, the guy gets a proper sendoff at least.”

“So it is for sure the soldier guy she told us about?” In response, he hands her an aged photo. Stiles leans up to see it as well, and sure enough the woman in the photo is the spitting image of Kira , only dressed for the 1940’s. Next to her is a handsome young man who had to be her soldier, and Ashley cant help but feel a pang of sorrow at his life being ended so early, when he had tried so hard to help everyone in the camp.

“That’s not that was there. I found a broken katana as well, that was stuffed into the space beside him. I brought it along as well just in case.”

“You never know what might come in handy.” She murmurs thoughtfully, still staring at the photo. After a couple of minutes she puts it on the center console and leans back in the seat, looking out the window and watching the buildings pass by. Maybe it was just what the house was used for, but the entire time she was there she had felt off, an eerie feeling creeping up her spine that only dissipated once they finally left the building. Normally she would just write it off as the nogitsune, as it seemed to come from beneath their feet and the body had been found in the basement, but the body was in the car with her now and she didn’t feel the same strange aura. Not that she didn’t feel a sickness from the corpse in the trunk, but it was a different sort, the kind you would feel from a relic that a spirit was clinging to, to stay in the realm of the living, and she had seen plenty of those traveling with the Winchesters.

“So what now?” Stiles asks from the back seat, not used to being a passenger and getting antsy again staying so still. “Do we call the scary foxy lady and tell her what we found? And can I not be there? Because I’d rather not be around someone who still thinks killing me is the quickest and easiest way to beat this stupid leech spirit thing. Nogitsune. Whatever.”

“Stiles, even if she does come to us, she wont be able to come in the house if she still wants to hurt you, remember? Her or the Oni this time. Hell, I’m half tempted to have the entire pack set up camp in the basement until we catch the stupid thing. So you’ll be fine if she comes over.”

“Still gonna be awkward, cuz.”

“Geez, then stay in your room while she’s here, work some more on my data base so you actually have a type of homework. Allison and Lydia are coming over later, they can help read it out to you while you type. Deal?”

Stiles huffs but gives his agreement, plopping his back against the seat and crossing his arms, pouting. Ashley rolls her eyes at the show and takes a look at her phone, sending a quick text to the girls to ask them to help Stiles out. Chris looks in the mirror at him and chuckles, before catching a look at himself and frowning at just how dusty he actually is, turning his hair completely grey. It hadn’t taken as much man power as he thought to know the wall down, practically crumbling apart when he smacked it with the loose pipe he had found, causing hardly any sound at all. There was still a smell of ash to the corpse, with bandages around the face, bared into a snarl. It had been cold down there as well, but not quite as cold as it would have been if a spirit had been down there. Speaking of which…”So, question. You mentioned something yesterday to the Yukimuras that puzzled me. You said there was a frost giant in the pack?”

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Ashley stiffen up for a moment, before she closes her eyes and slumps in her seat, Stiles coming to attention in the back seat in curiosity. “Wait, what? A frost giant? There’s really such a thing as giants? Is it albino? Does it have ice powers? How tall is it exactly? Do we get to meet it? When did you even have a chance to meet one?”

Ashley snorts at the seemingly endless barrage of questions, opening up her eyes when he finally stops, glaring at Chris halfheartedly for a second. “You just had to bring it up around the cat curiosity can’t kill, didn’t you?” When he gives a simple shrug in return, she stops the glare and looks out the window. “You guys know how I was in New York during the attack? I might have left a couple parts out. Like the fact that Thors brother had been brainwashed into leading the Chitari into earth in the first place. In order to break the hold on him, I made him part of the pack, and I think the stupid grace boosted it a bit because the protection from the runes kicked in almost immediately.”

Chris frowns deeply, thinking on what he knows about Thor. “Wait, Thors brother? So, Baldur? He wasn’t a frost giant though, he was an Aesir.”

“Yea, our Norse myths are very, very loosely based on the real thing. None of them are actual gods, for one, just very long lived. And no, not Baldur, I mean Loki.”

Stiles perks up at this. “Loki? As in God of Lies, Mischief and Chaos Loki? You found another super powered baddie to adopt?”

She glares at her cousin fierce enough to make him shrink back into his seat. “He isn’t a bad guy you idgit. He was adopted when he was a baby by an asshat who taught him that his entire race was evil, and never told him he wasn’t an Aesir, then made fun of for knowing magic and being studious. When he did finally find out, he had kind of a breakdown, which is understandable. How would you react if you got told you were a witch, after destroying an entire coven of them who were only defending themselves?”

“Umm…badly?”

“You bet your ass badly. But yes, I did adopt him, he’s a frost giant, and if you ever get to meet him you will be nice because he’s basically a tall Crowley with 5 children, daddy issues, who is very good at pranking people. Also because his brother has a very big hammer that can fly around on its own.”

“Why would we not get to meet him?” Chris asks softly, breaking her tirade before she could continue. “I might not be part of the pack, but Allison is and I have to admit I’m curious about him.”

Ashley glances at him, irritation melting from her eyes to be replaced by something else…pity maybe? “You’re pack by proxy, so that’s not an issue. Right now Loki is in Asgard, hopefully having a fair trial for his actions on Asgard and Earth. Thor is going to argue that the torture he went through at the hands of the Chitari and their leader was punishment enough, especially since they were partially controlling him. He’s supposed to get a hold of me when either a decision has been made, or if a certain amount of time creeps by. If they still haven’t came to a decision, I’ll apparantly be brought to Asgard to speak in his defense and bring him back with me if I have to.”

Chris parks the car at the Stilinski house and turns to face her fully, Stiles’s eyes wide as he stares at her from the back seat. “If Asgard is even a little bit like the stories, that might be a dangerous trip to make. The Norse myths are bloody and vicious. Are one of your angel friends going with you at least?”

“Not likely. Luci still has issues with what he considers to be pagans, if his talks with Loki are any indicator, and Gabe actually pretended to be Loki here on Earth for a while, so they might see that as an insult.” Ashley says with a short wince, imagining one of them actually starting a war between heaven and Asgard. “Thor promised that I would be treated well, and come to no harm while I’m there. Besides, I’m not completely helpless, thank you very much. Even if it does make me loopy enough to pass out afterwards, I even have a weird protective grace thing going on that’ll kick in if I’m in danger. So I promise, I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about getting Loki back at this point.”

“I never said you couldn’t protect yourself. It’s just…hard to come to grips with some things still. Before all I thought there was were the various supernatural creatures I would hunt, but since I’ve met you I’ve been introduced to angels and demons, and now you say that Asgard is real too.”

“It kinda makes a person worry what else is out there.” Stiles throws in, strangely serious for once. “And you keep on just rushing into all these new, weird situations and coming back with not quite ethically sound friends. I mean, sure Peter isn’t in the picture anymore, but you still have at least 4 other scary dudes hanging around at intervals. What’s up with that?”

Ashley sighs dramatically and gets out of the car, the other two hot on her heels, Chris thankfully leaving the corpse in his car for the time being. “It’s not something I can really explain, ok? I just do what feels like the right thing and hope for the best. And you think I’m not still trying to wrap my head around some of this shit? I have no idea what’s going on half the time, I just happen to be very good at winging it. And, luckily, have friends that I can ask for help if I get in over my head.” They make it inside the house, and Ashley turns to Stiles, eyes tired as she takes in the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. “Go on upstairs, Allison and Lydia said they’d be here after running a little errand, and we need to call fox mommy. Plus, I’m pretty sure you actually do have homework from at least one class.”

“Evil taskmaster.” Stiles mutters as he stomps up the stairs, much to the other adults amusement. “First make me go to a crazy house, get me punched in the face by a hot coyote girl who probably hates my guts, now making me do schoolwork. I tell ya, it’s child abuse…” Ashley shakes her head at his grumblings, used to it by now, just glad he listens to her at all.

“So, since we’re clearing ignoring the whole you going to Asgard thing, do you want me to go ahead and call Mrs. Yukimura, get this over with?” Chris asks her, eyebrow cocked at her as she gives a guilty shrug, clearly considering her part said.

“Yea, probably. You call Yukimura, I’ll text Derek and fill him in. He’s trying to see if he can sniff out the nogitsune for me, and I promised to keep him in the know.” Chris nods briefly and walks back out to make the call, while Ashley sinks into the couch and starts texting out a message to Derek. After telling him everything they had learned yesterday, he had offered to find and tail the dark fox spirit, keeping people out of its trail of destruction the best he can. Considering it was wearing her cousins face she really appreciated it, as she didn’t need any more issues like they had at the police station when they caught his face on camera. 

So far he had caught his tail only a couple of times, and from the glimpses he got the nogitsune was still a bit sickly looking, with a dark, expressionless face that was the main difference between him and Stiles. He had also been able to spread the slightest bit of chaos to feed on, but that was where his report was strange. The nogitsune seemed to mainly be walking around for now, looking around the town without a care in the world, a wide eyed, demented grin on its face, taking stock of things. Of course, that was only the times when Derek could find him, and who knows what he got up to at the times Derek lost his trail. He might have given himself away, however, as he had watched the nogitsune loosen the bolts on a swing set right before a little girl ran up to start swinging on it. Derek managed to catch her in the air before she landed on a pile of bricks from the park construction that had been left there irresponsibly, the swing having came undone right as she shot up into the air.

As he had handed the girl off to her frantic mother, he had seen the nogitsune smirking evilly at him from across the street before disappearing completely, a look that that was completely unnerving on Stiles face.

He also hadn’t been able to find him since, merely traces of where he had been, making them both believe that the nogitsune had been playing with Derek the entire time. Ashley was worried what else it could be cooking up, considering that the greater the chaos and pain it created, the greater. Luckily the entire pack knew to be cautious, and Stiles himself knew better than to wander off alone, rather than risk coming face to face with his doppelganger, which was why he went up to his room with very little complaining.

Hearing footsteps from the stairs, she looks up from her phone to see a haggard looking Sheriff coming downstairs, straightening up his uniform and honestly looking like he could use another couple hours sleep. Noticing her on the couch he sighs and walks up to her, rubbing a hand across his face. “Back from the Eichen House already? They didn’t actually try to put Stiles in, did they? Its not that hard to believe.”

She smiles gently at him, knowing how worried he was about the whole thing in the first place. “Nah, I kept him quiet most of the time, so they didn’t have a reason to yet. He did get punched by one of the patients, though. Probably gonna have quite the shiner in the morning.”

“What? Why? How much trouble could he have gotten into when his mouth wasn’t actually being used?” 

“It wasn’t technically his fault. That girl he helped find, Malia Tate? She was in there, and a bit upset that they made her change back from a coyote, so she took her aggression out on Stiles. Personally I think she might like him, it’s like when you’re in grade school and push a boy down, or pull a girls pigtails. We’re all good though, when she gets out I promised her help getting used to everything.”

Her uncle just stares at her blankly for a couple of seconds before gently knocking his head against the wall and sighing dramatically. “A normal day, that’s all I ask for. A normal day, in a normal town, with no weird murders or supernatural anything or my son pissing off…well, anything. I just want to train my new deputy, get Scotts dad out of my office, and take a long vacation. Can I do that?”

She stands up and pats him on the shoulder, feeling his pain and wishing she could help. “Probably not, at least not to everything anyway. You could probably swing a vacation if your deputies stop dying. But hey, at least you can look forward to the fact that as long as you’re in the house, you can’t get hurt. Well, unless a really powerful witch or demon takes the ward down. And hey, this weekend you’ll have a couple of extra adults around to help train everyone and keep an eye on them.”

He eyes her carefully. “True. More adults who know what’s going on sounds nice, even if I’ll probably stay busy the entire time.” He feels a vibration and looks down at his phone before sticking it in its case and checking to make sure he has everything. Speaking of which, I gotta go. Agent McCall wants to see me, broken arm and all, to discuss the crap going on, and Deputy Parrish needs to get more field work. Let me know if anything horrible happens?”

“Always.” She says, giving him a quick hug and walking with him to the door. As he gets in the car and pulls away, Lydia and Allison pull up, seeming to be in a hurry, and she hides her surprise badly when they take out Arthur and a diaper bag, rushing up to her jumpy and hyper. “Whoa, calm down, what’s wrong? Why do you have Arthur? You didn’t kidnap him from Peter, did you?”

“No, no, we traded for some time with him!” Allison says, pulling Ashley into the house and plopping down on the couch with her, Arthur immediately reaching out for her with a smile, still looking like a baby Peter. “You won’t believe what we found out though!”

Ashley looks back and forth between the two girls suspiciously. “…..What did you do?”

Lydia answers for both of them. “Well, I took to heart that I should find out more about what I can so, so we both went to Peter to ask him some questions. We figured since he used me to bring him back from the dead, he might know a couple of things. He said he had one thing he could show me, but he would need a favor in return.”

“We told him we wanted some time with Arthur, though, if we did the favor.” Allison cut in, while the toddler in question bounced on Ashleys knee. “It can’t be good for him to only be with Peter all the time, and he agreed, said he needed some alone time anyway to get some chores done.”

“Turns out, Peters sister hid something from him, and he wanted me to use her claws to find out what it was, and tell him what it was. Well, it worked.”

Ashley stared expectantly at the redhead. “Well?”

“I kind of decided it would be bad for him to figure out right at that point, so Allison tasered him when he got mad and tried to stop us from leaving, taking Arthur with us.”

“Fucking hell.” Ashley face palmed with her free hand, dragging it across her face. “Why the hell did you do that? What could be so important that you had to taser him and run here? Because I don’t know if I’m ready to see him again calm and charming, much less pissed and in pain.”

Allison and Lydia share a glance before turning back to her. “Well….it turns out Talia was hiding the fact that creeper wolf had a child. One not from his wife. A little girl, in fact.” Lydia and Allison hold out their phones side by side and Ashley looks at them curiously, gaping at the pictures of Malia Tate and Peter.

“You’ve got to be freakin kidding me.” She mutters, while Arthur pats her cheek with a slobber covered hand lovingly. She could see the similarities between them now that she had a photo of them both side by side, and she could bet that if both their eyes were glowing blue it would be even closer. “So Peter has no idea?”

“Nope. I could sense that Talia really didn’t want him to know, though I have no idea why.” Lydia says, looking a bit guilty at her alphas discomfort. “I’m sorry, I just thought if I knew a bit more, I could help out with the searching.”

“And the whole tasing him was kind of reflex.” Allison says with a blush.

“And who exactly did you tase?” Says a voice from the doorway, and Allison flinches guilt as her father comes through the doorway, eyebrow cocked as he leans against the wall.

“Uumm…Peter. With a cattle prod.” Ashley ignores the urge to face palm again and looks up at Chris with a tired shrug.

“I’ll tell ya in a minute. Allison, why don’t you and Lydia go ahead and go upstairs with Stiles? You probably share at least some of your homework, and you can help him with the database while we meet with Yukimura.” Both the girls run quickly upstairs to avoid a confrontation with Chris, and Ashley pats the space next to her for him to sit on, pulling out a soft material book for Arthur to play with and nibble on while they wait. “Come on, I’ll tell you what they just told me.”

********************( )******************** 

Meanwhile, in Grants Pass Oregon the Winchesters and Castiel find themselves sitting in a little diner morosely, Castiel staring out the window pouting. They had been told that Eve would be found there, but so far other than the fact that Castiel couldn’t beam out there was no sign of her. Dean thumps the table in annoyance while Bobby sits next to him with a cup of coffee, Sam searching the police records for any disappearances in town but coming up short. Tony had already loaded them all down with what he considered the essentials, or what he could put together in a couple of days at least.

Which was apparently a shit ton.

Dean didn’t know if he’d ever get used to having the money to buy things, or suits that weren’t pulled from a trashbin, or a phone that not only talk to him but monitor his vital signs. Bobby thought they were pulling his leg until they called up Tony on their shiny new phones and had him explain everything, and even then asked Tony if he was one of those rich bored morons he always hears about. It did help, however, having JARVIS send them notifications of various strange happenings around the US, leading them to the town they were in now. And once they sat down, it was obvious there was more than the initial article, as it was discovered Castiel couldn’t use his powers to leave, and could barely send a message to Gabriel.

“Well, it’s not much, but I found something.” Sam says finally, eyes narrowed in concentration at the computer screen. “Looks like a doctor here called the CDC, but for some reason nothing came from it. That must be what JARVIS picked up on.” He glances over at Castiel, who’s looking out the window at the people passing by. “Do you think your message made it through to Gabe before your power got blocked completely?”

“I can’t be sure, not unless he actually shows up, and even then he would likely be as powerless as I am.” Cas admits slowly, eyes dark.

“Well, good thing we stocked up on phoenix ash before we came here then, because it’s looking like we gotta gank the bitch ourselves.” Dean says through his last mouthful of pancake. Washing it down with the rest of his coffee, he stands up, the others following his lead.

“Well, instead of lazing around, I say we go talk to that doctor, Silver or whatever his name is, and find out why he called the CDC in the first place.” Bobby says, exiting the diner. “You don’t just do that for shits and giggles. Your fancy new computer may have gotten us here, but from here on in its gonna take looking around the old fashioned way. Unless you boys can’t work without some sorta help these days?”

Dean snorts loudly, hopping in the drivers seat of the impala, while Sam on the other hand, finishes up sending a text to Ashley before the other two can see, not too prideful to admit help would be good, but not wanting the others to rip into him for it. Hopefully she would be able to contact the archangels, in case Cas didn’t get his own message through.

Either way, it was bound to be an eventful day.


	14. In which there is Horrible timing

“Open up big guy.” Ashley says in a persuading voice, moving the mashed potato filled spoon towards Arthurs mouth. The toddler grins widely as she zooms it around like a plane, opening his mouth wide and eating it all, having a very good appetite and also apparantly loving mashed potatoes, not wanting to waste any last drop. Chris watches it all in amusement, once again seeing for himself how good she actually was with children, and how they in turn seemed to act around her. They were both waiting in the kitchen for the Yukimuras to arrive, hoping to get Arthur fed and content beforehand so there would be less a chance of him getting fussy while they discuss everything, though if anything they could put him down for a nap upstairs with the teens.

Ashley had gotten another text from Sam saying they had very likely found where Eve was hiding, and was currently keeping tabs on him as well. She had been texting him since they were inside the Eichen House, and apparantly, shortly after they had arrived in the town they were currently in, Cas’s grace had went down, making him unable to sense angel radio, contact any of his brothers or use his abilities hardly at all. Thirty minutes after that, she got another text saying that the doctor who had called the CDC in the first place was missing, but a trail of blood led to the body of a man in his shed. She’d sent Gabe and Luce a quick message, letting them know what was going on, but there had been no reply yet. Hopefully they wouldn’t just fly there and get stuck like Cas, seeing as Eve was technically older than them as well and could most likely block their grace as well. At least one of the brothers was keeping her in the know, so she could try and help where she could.

Including bailing her boys out if need be.

They move to the living room after cleaning up the brief mess, and set Arthur in the middle of the floor with a selection of toys, a sippy cup and a soft blanket, waiting on the couch as he gnaws happily on a cold teething ring she had stuck in the fridge for him while he ate. “He certainly looks like he’s flourished with Peter, as much as I hate to say it.” Chris comments, watching Arthur happy in the floor. 

“I can give him that, at least.” She says a bit softly back to him, standing up when she hears a knock on the door. “Even if he only does it to try and make himself look better in my eyes. The fact is, he doesn’t gain anything by hurting Arthur, and he might even like having him around, so he’s safe there for now. Once the refuge is built I’ll move him there, or try and see him adopted by an understanding couple.” She walks to the front door and opens it, letting in all three Yukimuras, as well as, surprisingly, Scott and Danny. Danny explains that he had been asked over by Lydia to help with some sort of project slash study group, and Ashley lets him, telling him she had no problem with it with him being in the loop now. Scott and Kira, however, stay downstairs with everyone else, plopping in the floor next to Arthur. While Mrs. Yukimura goes back over her story with Scott and Kira, Ashley checks up on Derek, who informs her that for tonight the twins and Isaac were helping with the search as well, however with no luck so far.

“So what exactly did you find?” Mrs. Yukimura asks stiffly once she finishes her story, glancing over at her daughter for a moment, horror written on her face.

“Exactly what you left there in the first place.” Chris answers, staring her in the eye. “A mummy with plated metal teeth and a broken katana, stashed behind a crumbling brick wall in a cold, eerie basement. All which is now in the trunk of my car, waiting to see what we need to do with them. Oh, and this.” He hands her the picture, watching as her face pales at the aged image. Kira takes the picture from her, staring at a face that could have easily passed for her twin sister.

“So what do we do now?” Ashley asks, breaking the tense silence. “You obviously wanted this stuff for a reason, but what was the reason?”

She takes a moment before responding, not used to letting her emotions run amok. “Well, it wasn’t so much that I wanted it all, though the katana does indeed help. I mainly wanted to check that the original body was still there.”

Ashley lets out a sigh, looking at Chris. “So, we lugged around a corpse in a trunk again for nothing. Great.” Scott just goggles at her mentioning the fact this isn’t the first corpse that she’s lugged around in a trunk. She looks back at Mrs. Yukimura with a questioning look. “So, would it hurt anything if we went ahead and salted then burnt the corpse? It’s kind of standard procedure with corpses related to evil spirits.”

“Most likely not, it might actually weaken it since this is the original body it bonded to. What will help the most, however, is the broken katana. If it can be mended, it can be used as another weapon to kill the nogitsune. To kill it, however, we have to find it. My Oni are searching for it as we speak.”

“So are four members of my pack. Derek had been following him solo for a while, but the nogitsune caught on and started basically leading him on. He already stopped the asshat from doing who knows how much damage to a little girl, but lost his trail after that. He says it’s disconcerting, seeing a look like that on Stiles face, and just not right.”

“They must be careful. The nogitsune can use flies to infect people, turn them to doing his bidding. They can enter through any orifice, and will at first simply make them give in to their darken inhibitions.”

Ashley shares a glance with Chris and Scott, faces all sharing the same look of worry. “Hopefully the pack mark will give a little bit of protection, but that is something I’d like to avoid. Which means we need to take care of this guy as soon as possible. Any ideas?”

Everyone just stares blankly at one another, fox momma not throwing her initial two cents in as, since as it was to kill Stiles, it would be met be high levels of hostility, and likely get her booted from the house by either the wards or the hosts. However, that doesn’t mean she has nothing to add in. “However we proceed, I’d like to go ahead and have the katana fixed, if there’s no objections. It will be one more weapon that can kill the nogitsune, and one more card in our favor. I assume you have no objections to that at least?”

“Go ahead, I see nothing wrong with that. I’m actually kind of curious how you plan on doing it.”

“Simple really, but I wont be the one to do it. Kira will.” She smiles at her daughter, who now has a completely confused look on her face, and stands up, pulling her daughter to her feet as well. “Could you please bring me the katana?”

Chris gives a short nod, heading towards the door. “Why is Kira going to fix the katana?” Scott asks, concerned for his kinda sorta girlfriend. “Can’t you do it?

“Believe me, if I had the ability, I would.” She answers, giving Scott an appraising look. “Unfortunately it can only be fixed by a Thunder kitsune, and while I’m not, Kira here is. If she channels her thunder into the blade, it will meld back together, power intact.”

“If you’re gonna start throwing around electricity, I’m taking Arthur upstairs. The last thing I want is for him to get scared, or even hit.” She scoops up the toddler, who seems to be passing out slowly anyway, and heads towards the stairs. “You guys start without me, I’m gonna get him set up then be right back.” Not looking to see if they’re paying attention she starts up the stairs, surprised when she hears Scott plodding up behind her. Making it to Stiles room, door wide open, she turns to him in confusion. “Scott, what are you doing? Do you need homework help too?”

“No! Well, yea, I haven’t actually started yet, but that’s not the…I just felt kind of uncomfortable down there with just Kira and her parents, especially since I know her moms first choice would be to kill my best friend. I’ll head back done with you, I just don’t wanna be stuck down there alone.”

She shakes her head at the flustered teen, walking in the room and placing Arthur in his arms for a moment while making a mini fort on the bed for him to sleep in, all the other teen perched on the edge of the bed or around the computer table, looking on curiously except for the one typing away. “If you want to date her you have to be alone with her and her parents at some point you know. And why haven’t you started your homework yet? You know you cant stay on the team if you don’t keep up your grades. You could have brought it over for after this whole mess, that’s what everyone else is doing.”

“I know.” He says in a mildly pouty tone. “I just had other things on my mind.”

“Dude.” Stiles says from his place at the computer screen. “I have an evil fox spirit very literally sucking the life from me slowly and I still get mine done, even if it is by force and coercion. You can too.”

“I don’t know much about that.” Danny says from his spot next to Lydia on the bed, going over each others notes and comparing. “But he has a pretty good point.”

Scott just mutters under his breath as Ashley grins and takes the half asleep toddler from him, noticing the trail of drool on his shoulder and how he tries to wipe it away with no success. Considering how much happened around town on a regular basis they actually were doing pretty good, especially since they were in danger more often than not. Scott was actually even doing better since he had started coming to the house more, and socializing with the pack on a daily basis. Even his mom had commented on it, and Coach Finstock had grudgingly admitted that his grades didn’t suck quite as bad. Still, she was going to push them all into keeping the pattern up as long as possible, because she’d be damned if all this shit was going to keep them from having choices when they graduate. Tony had actually shown interest in offering Danny, Lydia and Stiles internships( part of which would likely be spent with his new supernatural research team, since they all have first hand experience and are already in the loop), but the others needed option as well, even if they had all offered to work at the refuge already.

As she watched Scott walk around the bed to sit down with the others, Lydia going over their notes so far, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride for all of them. They hadn’t been a pack for that long, but they were all working together so well that it felt like it had been this way forever. They had even put together a time table, so that from the time Stiles left home, to the time he left school, their would be someone with him, that way his evil double couldn’t worm its way in, and if they had a shadow of a doubt all they would have to do is look for the silver ring he now wore at all times. Hopefully when Tony and the others arrive, they could discuss a couple more options, maybe even get rid of this thing once and for all with some backup, then start everyone off with their training. The air suddenly feels like its filling with light electricity starting up from her feet, and she remembers why she was up here in the first place. Turning away she grabs a blanket real quick, before turning back towards the bed, meaning to place Arthur in his sleeping fort. 

However, as she turns, standing there is a slightly panicked looking Gabriel. As everyone else looks up in surprise as they sense his presence, he puts a hand on her shoulder with an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry chicka, I need to borrow you for a minute. Be back with her soon! Hopefully!” Before she can so much as raise her eyebrow at that, she feels a familiar pull in her stomach that usually would come with being transported via angel airline, blinks, and opens her eyes to find herself outside, who knows where, in front of a brightly lit diner with Gabriel still gripping her shoulder.

And Arthur still in her arms.

“Gabe.” She says softly, and he lets go of her slowly before backing up a tiny bit. “Did you just angel nap me? Without an explanation, and while I have a half asleep toddler in my arms? Also, without asking first?”

Gabriel finally seems to notice the extra passenger and has the good sense to look ashamed, dragging his feet on the ground sheepishly. “Well, crap. Sorry chicka, I honestly didn’t do it on purpose, I just kinda acted on the spot.”

“I was trying to put him to sleep so I could discuss strategy on taking down the nogitsune that’s leeching off Stiles. What was so important that you freaked out and grabbed me without looking to see if I was even good to go anywhere?”

“Well, you know how you gave us the Winchesters location? Luci got impatient and kind of flew down to check on everything, and I haven’t been able to contact him since, or even sense his grace. Since Balthy is missing right now too, I might have….overreacted. And decided I needed help.”

Ashley feels her eye twitch, just a tiny bit. “Gabe. Please tell me you didn’t fly us both into the town that everyone else’s grace decided to take a breather and just not work? Knowing you would lose your mojo as soon as you landed?” Gabriel just looks up and around, everywhere but at her, whistling quietly, and her eye twitches again, Arthur thankfully quiet in her arms as she mentally face palms. “Can you at least fight without your grace? Because Sam told me there were a new breed of beastie running around, but I refuse to use the name Dean gave them.”

“Of course I can.” He says, looking a bit affronted that she would ask. “I sparred with my brothers for centuries before I ran away to live in my own personal witness protection. Lucy even did most of my training.”

“Good.” She says, taking a deep breath, wanting to freak out but knowing it wouldn’t do any good now. Later, however, she would be making him pay. Looking back at the diner, she can see everyone that had came to the little town, and experimentally tries to summon a dagger, just to see if it will work. Luckily it does, even if she does concentrate a little more than usual, and it switches back for the moment. “Somehow I can still use my angel blade, so we have a weapon. Come on, we’re here, we might as well go in and say hi. You owe me big time, you know. Fox momma is pretty cold, and I’ve had to tell her several times she cant just kill Stiles to end all this. I want to get this over with quick then we’re all going back and having a nice chat.” She starts walking across the parking lot with purpose, noticing a young woman staring at her curiously through the window, Gabriel at her side.

“Do you really want to bring him in? It might be dangerous. What if you have to fight?”

“Well, I’m not leaving him out here by himself with a bunch of unknown supes running around town, and you can’t exactly send him back, so it’s kind of my only choice. If all else fails, I’ll put him down somewhere safe and guard the area while you idiots do the main fighting. Deal?”

He sighs loudly, nodding in response, and the both walk through the doors, which are immediately closed and locked behind them. The first thing she notices are technically none of them are being threatened with weapons, even if most of the boys are being lightly restrained, with Dean sitting at the bar with the young woman looking generally annoyed/pissed off. The weapons were all in a pile, in a corner of the room being guarded over by two Jefferson Starships, and the missing angels looked to be inside some sort of angel trap, as no one bothered holding them down and they were standing rigidly, both surprised to see the two new entrants. Lucifer looks as if he wants to rip the heads off of every last one of them, though he shows a brief flash of concern at seeing her there. Dean finally breaks the silence as the Starships circle behind them. “Ashley, what the hell are you doing here? And why the hell do you have Arthur?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” The woman at the bar says, eyes curious as Ashley takes a step forward nervously, Arthur yawning in her arms. “And with yet another archangel no less. I’m glad I took the time to prepare an angel trap now.”

“Hey, don’t ask me. I was just trying to put Arthur here down to sleep, when Gabe pops up out of nowhere and plops me down in the parking lot, not even noticing it wasn’t just me. All I wanna do is go home and stop a kitsune from stabbing my cousin in irritation.” She ignores all the Starships as she maneuvers her way around to the angels in the trap, checking briefly to make sure Bobby is ok. “You guys ok?”

“I am…uncomfortable, but unharmed.” Castiel says stiffly, glancing around at their captors. Ashley smiles, and promptly shoves Arthur in his arms.

“Good, hold onto him for a minute, I suggest being quiet cuz he’s almost asleep. Luce, you ok?”

“Does pissed off count?” He askes with a growl, and she smiles faintly. “These creatures caught me off guard, and I was dragged into this trap. Other than that, we haven’t been harmed yet.”

“I thought you knew better than to rush in somewhere there was a good chance your grace would basically get turned off.” She chides him with a small, nervous smile. “ You and Gabe both need to have a long talk with me about thinking ahead, because right now you’re as bad as Sam and Dean.” Patting his shoulder, she walks over to Dean and Sam at the bar, joining them and sitting down, then looking straight ahead at the woman, who she now assumed was Eve. “Well, since I’m here and all my angels are basically grace neutered, I’m going to assume that you’re Eve?” She ignores the sputtering coming from Gabriel, noticing that Eve gives the tiniest of smiles. It was strange, knowing that this girl who looked only a few years older than most of her pack housed the mother of all supernatural creatures, but it also made her more comfortable to talk to.

“I am. And who are you, clearly human yet smelling like the faintest trace of grace? Everyone here seems to know you, and most of them seem to be worried that I’ll have you killed.”

“Eh, they worry about that a lot, just with different people. Things. Whatever. Point is, I’m kind of in danger a lot.” Ashley says nonchalantly, and she can swear she hears Bobby snort in the background. “My names Ashley. The grace you somehow smell is either my angel blade, or the fact that I have a bit of grace these two,” she points at the two archangels in the room, “gave me to protect me from demons. Has Dean told you to bite him yet? He gets snarky around the supernatural and has little to no filter.”

This time Eve does visibly smile, and again Ashley is reminded of one of her teens. “He hasn’t, but I can see that from his temperament. Maybe I should talk to you instead? I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to see you walking towards us with yet another archangel.”

“Gabe got a bit worried when another one of his brother vanished from his radar. Which I guess you can kind of understand right now.”

Eve’s eye take on a rage finally, though her face still has an aura of calm. “Someone keeps kidnapping my children and leaving them in bloody parts everywhere. I came here to resolve things, and while doing it peacefully is something I’m sure everyone would prefer, I’m prepared to go to war. I will wipe every human off the planet if need be.”

“Hey, no need to go that far yet, we both want the same thing, I promise.” Ashley says placatingly, raising up both her hands in surrender, while the boys just look at her like she’s crazy. “I assume the people standing guard are the start of your army? Sam said they have a habit of dropping dead everywhere.”

“Yes, the bad part of experiments is that they don’t always work completely like you want them to. The final stage, however, you two actually sent to safety.” She says with a smile at Sam and Dean, who look at her for a moment before looks of horror dawn on their faces. “Ryan is the perfected version. If I can’t stop this Crowley from using my childrens souls as a power supply, then I’ll take away his.”

Ashley frowns deeply at that, Crowley hadn’t told her he was being framed for all this. “Crowley? He isn’t behind all this, he’s trying to figure out who is. He’s been working with Luci and Gabe to figure out who is.”

“How can you be sure? Demons are excellent liars, you know, it’s how they’re able to trick humans into so many deals. Besides that, he’s left a trail of clues leading straight to him. Its very clear he’s the one behind all of this.”

“See, that right there is a big red flag. Crowley’s too smart to leave behind a trail of clues pointing his way.” Ashley says matter of factly, while pretty much everyone else in the room rolls their eyes. “And yes, demons lie. But not about this. Every time I see him or Luci, they talk about trying to figure this thing out, especially since we know they’re trying to open door to Purgatory. They’ve even kidnapped an angel, we don’t know if he’s alive or dead.” Eve looks unconvinced so she presses on. “Believe me, I’m the last person who wants the hunting and mutilating to continue. I have a bit of a growing family I’m very protective over, and they’re affected by this as much as yours.”

“Ha!” Eve laughed once, no humor in it, and Ashley can feel the Starships shifting nervously around her. That, in turn, makes all of her boys nervous in turn, and out of the corner of her eye she can see Bobby eyeing the weapons in the corner of the diner. “I very much doubt it. Is your little family in danger of being torn apart just to find the secret to power? Do they have to fear for their lives every single day? Are they feared for the power they wield, for the very things that make them special and unique?”

“As a matter of fact they are.” Ashley replies, and this time its Eve’s turn to frown. She takes the chance to walk back to Cas, gently taking Arthur back from him and ignoring the violent looks coming from the Starships as she makes her way back to Eve, but coming around the bar to her instead of sitting back down with the Winchesters. “This is Arthur. Take a good look at him and tell me what you see.”

Eve narrows her eyes but does as she asks, walking closer and putting a surprisingly gentle hand on Arthurs face, peering closely at him. Arthur in turn opens his eyes sleepily, grasping at her finger with his chubby little hand and smiling before burrowing his face into Ashleys shoulder. Eve gives a motherly smile at him before it hits her and her eyes go wide as she senses what he is. “He’s a shapeshifter! One of my children! Why do you have him?”

Ashley shifts Arthur into a more comfortable position for both of them before responding. “Sam and Dean brought him to me. They were investigating a series of murders where the children were kidnapped, only they made it this time for the killer to still be there. He ran away when he get nicked with a silver blade, and they were going to take him back to their grandpa but…something was off. They thought he would be safer with me, and so far he has. What happened afterward?” She asks, looking at Dean.

Dean looks surprised to be asked, before quickly hiding it to answer the question. “I forgot, we never told you. We went back to the warehouse, did some digging, found a bunch of supes in cages. Apparently they were doing the dirty work for whoever the hell is behind this without knowing it. We were going to sit gramps down and question him, but a shifter broke in and started killing everyone, we think it was the shifter alpha. We think he was looking for Arthur here, because he left once he figured out no one had him.”

“He’s been in my care one way or another ever since, with a…friend…keeping him for me, even helping him hone his abilities a bit. I don’t care what species he is, or what gender he decides to be, I just know he’s a baby who needs help. Crowley even knows I have him, and hasn’t tried anything.” Ashley says, voice pleading as she sees Eve wavering slightly as she stares at Arthur. Suddenly Ashley gets an idea, and closes her eyes briefly to gather her courage before turning and placing Arthur in Sams arms. “Can you look into my mind like Gabe does?”

Eve gazes at her assessingly after finally ripping her gaze from Arthur, nestled protectively in Sams arms. “I can. It might hurt a bit, however. I don’t have quite as much practice invading a persons memories. Why?”

“Chicka, you don’t have to do this.” Gabriel says quietly, coming to the bar despite the Starship trying to hold him back. “You can just tell her what you need to. Letting someone in is never a good idea, even if they’re only looking at specific things.”

“And you would know, wouldn’t you child?” Eve asks with a grim look sent his way. “I won’t hurt her too badly, angel…I will be as gentle as I can for someone who has taken care of one of my children. However, if what she says doesn’t give me the proof she thinks I need, she will be the next to experience the perfected virus.” All the Starships guard one of the men at that point, even the angels in the trap, and Ashley cant help but feel a bit of fright as the mother of all supernatural creatures stares her down, as if daring her to back down. Unconsciously she feels her ring switching to a blade, but the moment she feels the pommel in her hand she shakes her head the slightest bit, as if getting rid of a pesky fly, and switches it back.

“I’m ready if you are.” She says, voice steadier than she actually is. “Like I said, I have a family to protect too, even if it does include all these idiots.” Again, Eve smiles at this but doesn’t comment, instead putting her hands on either side od Ashley’s temples, and they both close their eyes.

“Just breath, and concentrate on what all you want me to see and know.” Eve says softly, once again motherly, before the tickling in her brain begins. She ignores it at first, concentrating on showing Eve everything she needs to; her pack, her talks with both Crowley and Lucifer, her adventures since she had fist came to Beacon Hills. She poured all of her emotions for her family through the connection, her attempts at trying to help them with their abilities, their constant life threats.

As the pain starts in, she shows her Derek, and Peter, Deucalion and the twins, what she remembered of her fight with the Darach, her pain at losing Gwaine. Eve sees flashes of her time away from them all, time that even she couldn’t remember due to the block, and even if Ashley doesn’t see the same thing, she feels the strong emotions associated with the memories, even through the even increasing tension in her brain.

There is blood now dripping down her nose as she shows Eve more, shows her Loki, and the others in New York, the battle with the Chitari, her promise to Loki to rescue him if she needed to. She sees the plans for the refuge, their hopes to help all the children affected by the supernatural, offer them a home and protection, love and care, even training if need be no matter what they are. She sees Crowley, Lucifer and Gabriel through the girls eyes, sees her love for them, and unexpectedly the way they seem to care for her, as she broke through their walls one by one, rescuing them from themselves. She sees that Ashley truly wanted to help her, to help her children. She sees lastly what Ashley is being put through, to protect those she loves, strain the grace was now putting on her body every time she used it, on purpose or not. She saw the fact that, knowing it was draining it, she would still use it, and that she was trying very hard not to use it now, not to use the archangel blade hidden as a ring on her hand, the one that kept switching back and forth from blade to ring, blade to ring, flaming blade to ring.

She desperately was trying to keep herself from killing a mother who was simply trying to protect her children.

Eve finally stops digging through her mind, noticing how pale the girl has gone even as she sways, blood dripping down her face as she is partially held up by the elder being. Staring quietly at her for a moment, she finally looks away and makes a notion with her hand towards the angel trap, erasing it and setting the two free. Lucifer looks surprised for a moment, before striding over and putting an arm around Ashley’s waist to support her, and keep her up. “All of you, go gather up all the dead bodies you can find, and burn them.” She tells the Starships, everyone else looking extremely confused by the proceedings. “When you’re done, start cleaning up the blood from all the buildings and houses. Go.”

“Does…that mean she convinced you?” Sam asks quietly, Arthur still in his arms as Lucifer and Gabriel check over Ashley to make sure she’s ok, wiping the blood from her face. “Not that I’m complaining if she did, just finding out where we all stand right now.”

“Obviously, since none of us are dead you idgit.” Bobby snarks, plopping down on a bar stool next to him. “And she let the angels go. I’d say that’s a pretty big indicator. She ok over there?” The last he aims at the two archangels checking her over.

“She seems ok.” Gabriel says quietly, checking to make sure there was no lingering affects to keep her bleeding. “Just exhausted for some reason.”

“What did you do?” Lucifer growls, looking over at Eve, who in turn had a serious and contemplative look on her face. 

“I didn’t do anything. The blood and exhaustion is mainly from her trying to keep the grace from reacting to me. In case you didn’t notice, her disguised angel blade kelp going back and forth from blade to ring…she didn’t want to attack me if she didn’t need to, and the grace you two gave her wanted to very much.”

“Yea, it’s a bitch to keep in check.” Ashley says with a dark chuckle, still holding on to Lucifer like a lifeline, dizzy even though Gabe healed her. “I knew I could convince you all we want to do is help.”

“It would be better to work with you than against you.” Eve admits. “You do have leads already, and working against you will only hurt more on both sides. Not only that, I can’t see myself working against someone who is working so hard to protect her own family, especially since part of them are my children. Arthur here seems extremely happy after all. I’ll stay here for a while and try to get my new breed adjusted, but I want to be involved with everything you find, every step you take, every detail you go over. I won’t be happy until these bastards are caught, understand?” The last is aimed at the archangels, who both nod sharply in agreement.

“You need to be careful though. One of the ingredients needed to open Purgatory is the blood of someone who escaped from it…they get ahold of your blood and they’ll be one step closer to their goal.” Castiel says quietly, having moved behind Dean as soon as the trap was removed.

“Oh, little one…it will be very hard for them to achieve that goal.” Eve says with a feral grin. “However, I’m not the only one to ever escape…there are others on earth somewhere.”

“Great, just what I need to hear.” Gabriel groans, helping Ashley back to the bar and sitting her down at a stool. “Well, at least we don’t have to worry about an army of new supes trying to take over anymore. Good job chicka!” 

“Yea yea, the day is saved again, blah blah blah. What now?” Dean asks, going around the bar and fixing himself a drink, as well as grabbing a bag of chips to start munching down. “we may have one less person gunning for us, but we still need to find the brains behind the operation. Oh, and there’s still an alpha shifter looking for Ashley and Arthur.”

“We need to let Crowley know about the newest development, for one, and get Eve and him together to see if they can figure things out.” Lucifer says, saying at Ashleys side and staring, somehow, everyone down at once. “The last I heard, he was thinking about laying a trap, though he has seemed a little preoccupied the last couple of days.”

“Probably the new hellhound puppies.” Ashley says groggily, a little smile on her face thinking about the adorable little fuzzballs. “They’re Gwaine and Growlys, and are really good cuddlers.” Everyone looks incredulously at her at that little comment, and she blushes just the tiniest bit. “Yea, on that note, as fun as this was, I need to get back home before fox mommy tries to stab my cousin. We were trying to discuss finding and stopping a nogitsune leeching off of Stiles when Gabe kidnapped me. And I’m still really dizzy.”

“if you wouldn’t mind, I may come visit you pack sometime soon.” Eve says as Lucifer lifts her back up, Gabriel taking Arthur from Sam. “I’m interested to see them in person, and might be able to help train the banshee…Lydia? And I am sorry for hurting you.”

“Eh, it was worth it to change your mind.” Ashley says dismissingly. “And you’re welcome any time, these guys certainly visit enough. For now, though, these two need to get us home, so I can have a long talk with them about jumping the gun. And they can explain why I’m passed out to everyone.”

She says her goodbyes to everyone before letting Lucifer transport them away, once again feeling the pulling in her gut as she blinks, opening her eyes to a room full of slightly panicked looking people, most of which relax at seeing her with the two archangels. All except for the Yukimuras and her uncle, that is, and Chris, who notices the fact that she’s pretty much being held up by Lucifer. “What happened? Scott said Gabriel grabbed you and left without an explanation! Are you ok?”

Ashley closes her eyes and sighs deeply, already feeling her body trying to shut down from the blood loss. “As much fun as explaining everything sounds, I need to sleep due to blood loss and the strain of letting someone dig through my brain. Luci and Gabe can explain everything while I’m drooling on my pillow.” Not waiting for an answer, she has Lucifer pop her into her room, not even noticing he changes her into warm ups as he does, phone plugged into the wall. He lays her on the bed, and she stares drowsily at him as her eyes get harder and harder to keep open. “Thank you Luci. Will you help Gabe explain what happened? And make sure Arthur gets home? And we all still need to talk…and…”

“Shhhhh.” He says, putting a finger on his lips, and she finally drifts off to sleep, so her body can heal on its own. Pulling a blanket over her, he turns out the light and moves downstairs to see an angry looking kitsune staring Gabriel down, hands on hips while he holds Arthur like a shield. All the teens in the room except for Kira look on amusement, watching the powerful archangel get yelled at by the skinny fox.

“Idiot.” Lucifer mutters as Lydia smugly takes Arthur from Gabriel and sits back down on the couch with him, leaving him defenseless, technically speaking. He should probably go down there and help.

He’s content to stand there and watch for a bit though.


	15. Please knock First

"How long exactly did you let her yell at Gabe?" Ashley questions the archangel as she straightens out her desk, class over for the day. After her little session the night before, Lucifer had decided it was probably better to take her to school and back again himself, in case she still suffered from late aftereffects of last nights brain infiltration. Luckily by now most of the class had gotten used to her having guests during her class, and she was pretty sure the administration had been whammied into not paying her any attention by either the angels or Crowley, so the tall, slightly intimidating looking man was ignored for the most part, except for the few girls who didn't know who he actually was, only knowing he was an attractive older man with scruff.

Truth be told she was glad he had insisted, as even though she might not admit it, she was actually still feeling off from lasts nights unplanned adventure. Eve digging through her mind took a whole lot more out of her than she had expected it to, as well as forcing the grace to mind as much as she possible could at the same time. Of course, that could also be from the grace taking a toll on her like Raphael said it would as long as she didn't have a grounding point to focus on. Unfortunately, Lucifer and Gabriel were out of the question since it was their grace doing the damage in the first place, and obviously Gwaine was no longer around. The pack helped a bit, but, again, it also increased what she could do, a true double edged sword that both helped and hindered her. Hopefully Loki would be able to help her, and soon.

That is, if she didn't end up rescuing him herself.

"Oh, not for too long." Lucifer replies, smirk on his face as she turns to face him, finally done. "I let her keep going until her eyes started to glow, and the wards were getting close to giving her a reminder to behave. She's quite the spitfire, even if she was mostly just annoyed that he interrupted your little meeting."

"Yea, I bet she was. Luckily Chris is used to taking control of situations or else it would have been a lot worse with me just disappearing like that. Honestly I think she's just sensitive to you guys, being a Celestial kitsune and all."

"Could be, I never really interacted with the kitsune that often." Standing up from his chair he stretches out, and she momentarily wonders what it would be like to be taller than 5'4. " Are you all set to go? Michael is taking over my part of the searching for the day, so I'm at your disposal. Didn't you say something about burning a body?"

"Hmm? Oh, yea, I need to meet Chris and Derek at the old house, so we can salt and burn the nogitsunes original body, and wait for Tony to land."

"Shall we then?" Lucifer holds out his arm, and Ashley grins, picking up her bag and taking said arm gently.

"Can we stop at the house real quick? I wanna drop this stuff off and change into better clothes…well, more comfy clothes. Mucking around in the woods in these shoes is a horrible idea, and I don't want good clothes smelling like smoke." Agreeing quickly he pops both of them back to the house, and she sets him in front of the computer with YouTube while she grabs clothes to change into in the bathroom. Surprisingly, he had shown an interest in both Epic Rap Battles and Epic Meal Time, and she had to admit that him being addicted to a show where a group of bearded Canadian men cook meals that were at least 40000 calories and plough through them like Thanksgiving dinner was pretty fricken funny. She halfway expected him to ask why she never cooked like that, though the way her pack was growing it might happen pretty soon. Maybe not the meat cake though, that was just weird looking.

Stopping in the bathroom and closing the door, she pulls on a pair of comfy jeans, thick soft boot socks and a lightweight hoodie, as it was finally starting to get chilly outside and she had no idea how long they'd be at the old house. Standing after pulling on her socks, she takes a moment to give herself a look in the mirror, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, normally kept pretty tame with a good eye cream, were a nice dark purple, and she was a bit paler than usually. Sighing, she tells herself that it has to be another side effect from her adventure last night, not wanting it to be another side effect from the grace taking a toll on her, and pulls out a light concealer to cover them a tiny bit at least. As she pulls up her hair into a ponytail, she wonders if it would be easier to cut it short and not worry about the work anymore. As she does, she has a brief flash of her looking into a different mirror, this one surrounded by vines, wearing some sort of medieval looking dress, hair chopped short and messy, and sporting a stylized tattoo on her neck, in elegant swirls of midnight blue. As the other her turns to the sound of an excited young voice with a smile, a sharp jolt of pain shoots through her head and she has to grip the counter tightly to keeps from dropping.

Lucifer must have heard her cry of pain as a moment later he bursts through the bathroom door, panicked look on his face as he immediately grabs on to her to support her. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"I'm…not sure." She says, pain fading away gradually. "I…it was like a vision of myself out of nowhere, and when it went away there was pain all of a sudden."

"Where was the pain?"

"My head, and much sharper than when Eve was digging through my head. It's gone now, though. Luce, what was that? Cuz honestly, it sucked. Though, at least I'm not bleeding this time, so that's a plus."

"I have no idea. The only people I know who have visions are prophets, and even then it's usually not of themselves. Well, or Sam Winchester, and even then it was limited. I can ask Michael when I go back to heaven." He looks her over worriedly for a couple of seconds, still holding her up. "Are you sure you still want to go out there? Surely they can take care of everything themselves, they are all adults after all."

She gives him an incredulous look. "Yes, but one of those adults is Tony Stark, without the one woman who can keep him in line. I'm fine for now Luce, and someone needs to play mediator with everyone. Just, I don't know, keep close just in case it happens again. Oh, and next time knock first…seriously, I could have been naked in here, or using the bathroom." Lucifer blinks a moment before turning a dark red, turning away, and she can't help but grin at his embarrassment as the random pain and image floats to the back of her mind for the time being.

*************( )***************

No one ever thinks about what a dead, decomposed body will smell like, since most of the time they'll already be six feet under and buried, or cremated before they even have a chance to decompose in the first place. The few people who have are either the kind of crazy person who keeps the rotting carcasses of their victims around as souvenirs, or who unfortunately have a good reason to find them. Hunters find themselves in that situation more often than they would like, as usually the first step to getting rid of a restless spirit is to burn their remains, though with the darker creatures they would more often than not find bodies with parts missing or large bloody messes. Sam and Dean actually saw more than their fair share before either of them turned 12, clearly shown in how neither really reacted to the sight anymore.

The smell though…there is no way one could ever not react to the smell of a dead body, no matter how old it is. It permeates the air all around, and if it's been in an air tight container, like a coffin for example, the minute that contain is opened the smell is the first thing that grabs you, whether you want it to or not. The only difference is that the fresher bodies have a very unique smell, due to everything being released on the moment of death, and the older bodies have a thick, cloying smell that sinks into the bones, as well as what little remaining flesh is there. There are very few options to blocking said smell, other than simply blocking up your nose the best you can, and even then it seems to get in somehow from breathing in that air through your mouth.

Chris and Derek, however, had a different method.

As soon as she and Lucifer dropped down, there was an immediate smell of burning pine needles, as well as what seemed to be a bag of cherry soaked wood like you would use when smoking meat on a grill. Thinking about it, it made sense to make something to cover up the smell, as Derek had a much more defined sense of smell than the rest of them, and could likely smell it through the trunk of the car. Looking over at the fire pit curiously, she notices a pile of broken up furniture to the side, and as she watches Derek and Chris both pick up a dilapidated couch, the one Kate had thrown her on after drugging her, and toss it into the pit, sparks and embers flying everywhere as it crashes down. "What are they doing?" Lucifer murmurs aloud, and Derek turns slightly to face them as he hears the comment.

"The house has been sitting here for years, untouched since the fire. I figured it was about time I finished the job, and since we needed a fire anyway this seemed the best time to do it."

"Isn't Tony just gonna tear the entire thing down anyway to renovate the land for the new house?" She asks, picking up a chair leg and tossing it in herself, enjoying the crackle of the fire.

"Yea, but this is more cathartic." Chris snorts in the background, tossing a couple more chair legs in before wiping his hands on his jeans and walking over to join the conversation. "By the way, are you okay? I heard a little about what happened last night from about four different people."

"Yea, I'm okay." She sees Lucifer giving her a glance out of the corner of her eye and can't help but roll them. "Don't give me that look Luce, I'm perfectly fine, just a little woozy at times still. Considering I had someone older than you rooting around in my brain, I think I'm doing pretty well. Oh, and the fact that doing so prevented her from letting a hybrid army loose on everyone. Now, can we just salt and burn the stupid body already before Tony gets here and starts asking questions?" Chris and Derek share an amused glance before walking over to Chris's car and pulling the mummy wrapped body out of the trunk, each holding an end as they walk closer to the fire. Ashley takes the salt she brought over from her bag of hunting supplies and, as they place the body on the fire and back away, she pours a generous amount over the body, grabs the lighter fluid from the stump it was sitting on, and shot a stream of it straight towards the body.

Immediately the fire spreads to the soaked wrappings, where it takes no time to cover the entire body with a sizzling hiss. As the body starts to burn, the eventual smell of age and decay wafts over everyone, but luckily minimized due to the add ins to the fire, though she does see Derek turn up his nose quite bit still. There is silence for about 10 minutes as they all just watch the body burn down, occasionally spraying in a bit more lighter fluid for good measure, as everyone wanted to make sure that the body did, in fact, burn down, and if Lucifer used his grace to make the fire burn just a little bit hotter, no one complained about it.

Meanwhile, miles away in the basement of a high school setting up malicious tricks in order to feed from the chaos and pain they cause, the nogitsune stops in its tracks as a look of anger crosses its face as it feels the only other thing keeping it tied to the world destroyed. As a ripple runs through it, every so slightly pulling for it to follow the original body to the beyond, the nogitsune grits its teeth and resists, grabbing a nail from its pile and tearing it across its arm, ripping the skin and giving it something else to focus on to ignore the pressing urge. As the urging finally passes the nogitsune grits its teeth and sets out to continue the task set before it, ignoring the blood dripping down its arm except to wipe it off its work.

When everyone gathered around watching was finally convinced that the body was good and destroyed, they all finished up throwing the broken gathered furniture into the fire over it, only pausing to go back through the house for more, all except for Ashley. While the three men did the heavy lifting, she went through the house and picked up anything she thought looked important, or might have memories attached. Obviously most of it had been heavily destroyed by the fire, but as she dug through the wreckage, she managed to find photos with only slight burn damage, a teddy bear missing an eye and covered with soot, a large disc with stylized etchings into it, and, after going into a room missing most of the walls and half the floor, she found a large metal box in the wreckage of a bed. She didn't find much more after that, or at least not much that could be saved or valued, so she made her way back outside with her findings, sitting on a makeshift bench and setting everything else beside her before opening it up.

"Jackpot." She thought to herself with a smile as she smashed the half melted lock off with her blade and opened the box to reveal, on top of a pile of paper, two full photo albums labeled 'Hale Family Memories' and apparantly put together by none other than Talia Hale. Glancing over quickly to see if Derek has noticed yet, she opens the first one up to reveal pages full of photos, descriptions written underneath each one. Going over each page, she can't help but stop and giggle when she comes to pages of baby Derek, diaper and all, sitting on his mothers lap, grinning up at her as she tickles his stomach. Hearing the giggle, Derek glances over to see her sitting down with a huge smile on her face." What's got you in such a giggly mood?" He calls over, the other men pausing as well to look at her curiously.

"Oh, you know….blackmail photos." She says, looking over at him with an evil grin. "It's weird seeing you without the scruff, you know. The diaper is kinda cute though."

"Wait, what?" Derek hurries over when she says this, getting down on one knee in front of her as the rest of the bench was covered up, and she turns the album around so he can see it as well. His face goes white as he turns one page after another, until he comes to a page that only has one large photo, which seems to be of the entire family together, which he just stares at intensely. "Where did you find this?"

"One of the more destroyed upstairs bedrooms. I think it was your moms, because it was in this big metal box with another album and a bunch of papers. I haven't looked at any of it yet, but barring Peter I would assume it belongs to you now." As Derek nods his head and turns another page , and this time Ashley pauses his hand, as this picture is of a much younger Peter, with a lovely woman and a happy toddler sitting in his lap, then the one beside it is him rocking the same toddler to sleep. Across the page is him and the same woman, long dark hark flowing over her shoulders, looking at one another lovingly under a tree, his hand on her obviously pregnant stomach. "I'm guessing that's…."

"Peter's wife and son." Derek says, voice heavy. "They were burnt in the house with everyone else." Looking closely at the photo, she notices the teddy bear she found is the same one the toddler is holding. "Everyone was so surprised when he married a normal person, but you could tell that they loved each other, and she got along really well with my mother. His son, Philip, was one of the happiest babies I'd ever seen, and Peter doted on him." Ashley finds herself thinking how Malia came into being, with Peter loving his wife so much, but pushes it to the side as she sees the look in Dereks eyes. Placing a hand over his she squeezes it, letting him know that she's there for him, and he gives a slightly watery smile in return. "Thank you for finding this. I was just going to let the house be demolished without looking to see if anything was worth saving, but it's good to know I have a reminder of my family from the good days."

"I hate to break this up.." Lucifer interrupts, waving his hand and shifting the remainder of the broken furniture to the burn pile as he stares up into the sky. "But I believe our company is here." Derek comes back to his feet while everyone looks up at the jet in the sky, and Ashley puts the album back in the box for safe keeping, ready to face the unrelenting force that went by the name of Tony Stark.

*********************( )************************

"So this is it huh? Not bad, not bad, plenty of trees and dirt and grass, if you like that sort of thing. Definitely plenty of room for what I have planned and more. You think I need some kind of permit for an underground lab slash bunker slash massive hideaway chamber? Or a place to stick the Quinjet when we stop by? Know what, I don't care, Imma build it anyway. I'll even make it hulk proof, because if the Hulk can't bust through a set of walls, neither can a bunch of kids with weird powers. Huh, I wonder if that's what went through Xaviers mind when he built his X-men training rooms."

Chris stares in horrified awe as Tony walks around the land with Derek in tow, constantly spouting off with little tidbits like that an a seemingly nonstop pace, while Natasha and Clint just stood watching with Ashley in amusement, as they would whenever someone who wasn't around Tony much would hear him go off on a spiel for the first time. Not the mention the fact that he was dressed in what had to be the most expensive looking jeans and t-shirt possible, and had his Starktab out to do a 360 viewing of the land. Every once in a while, JARVIS would throw in a comment about a particular area, including how soon they could get a demolition crew down there. "So, is he always like this?" Chris finally asks as Tony gets curious and heads towards the bonfire, having smelled the remaining scent of the burnt body. "He's scarily like an adult Stiles with way too much money and time on his hands."

"Don't forgets the flying metal suit that shoots lasers from its hands."

"Lord don't say that. Stiles on his own is bad enough, without imagining him with Tony as a sponsor." Ashley says with a muffled groan while Tasha smirks knowingly. "Honestly I'm just surprised Derek's letting him go on like that, he isn't known for his patience."

Chris tries his hardest to muffle a snort at that. "That's a nice way of putting it. Probably helps that he's practically being paid to do it."

"Speaking of which, I think he wants you to listen to him spouting nonsense as well." Lucifer says as Tony waves Chris over, half completed blueprints in hand. Chris takes a deep breath, almost needing to ready himself for the conversation, before going over to join the other two men, probably just in time as Ashley can just barely see Dereks eye starting to twitch, his usual scowl starting to form. Luckily Chris was used to handling stressful situations. As they finally start going over plans and finalizing the layout of the refuge, Natasha turns to face Ashley and the archangel. "So this Fury, he has nothing to do with this, right? Because if he comes after Ashley I will retaliate, that's a promise."

"Geez, calm down Lucy." Clint snarks, wilting under the glare that Lucifer sends his way for the nickname. "Ok, not Lucy then, how bout Luc? The Satan that used to be? Mr. Grouchy Archangel?" The glare just intensifies, and Ashley has hard time not giggling. "Nope, Lucifer it is. Gotcha."

"Fury has nothing to do with this." Natasha interrupts, throwing her own brief glare. "We both took some much needed vacation time, and since New York is finally all cleaned up he didn't have much of a choice. Not only that but he has literally nothing on you, and if he tried Pepper can pull the saved a group of children angle, he'd be stopped in his tracks. Besides, he's mainly just mad you managed to pull all that right under his eyepatch."

"Good." Lucifer replies, crossing his arms over his chest and assuming what Ashley calls his silent bodyguard pose, one he takes when he wants to intimidate people he doesn't really trust, which honestly is most people. While he watched, however, he also scanned over the contents of the Quinjet to see what all they had brought along. Mostly it seemed to be a sleek motorcycle, a couple of duffle bags, and a range of different equipment for training the pack. There was also a suitcase with an extra Iron Man suit, another that seemed to be some prototype weapons of his, a backpack filled with snacks, and several other blueprints.

He and Natasha seem to have a silent stare off for a moment before she turns back to Ashley with a short eye roll. "So, you need training for some kids, right? Tell me about them. And about the situation as well, so I can have a clearer picture."

Ashley nods and gets comfortable on the blanket that Chris had brought out from his car, sitting on the grass with Lucifer behind her, leaning up against a tree. Crossing her legs Indian style she thinks for a moment about what to say. "Okay…I guess I'll start with the situation first. My cousin Stiles woke up one night on the floor in a lot of pain, which he thought was from hitting the floor in the first place. Turns out a dark spirit called a nogitsune had infected him, and when it hit the protection my pack mark gave him, it split into an entire other body, and a doppelganger for Stiles. Problem is, it's like a parasite, and the stupid thing is still drawing off of his life force, making him weaker every day. We need to find and destroy it so it looses its hold on Stiles, but the problem is that it thrives on pain and chaos, and the local kitsune mom just wants to kill Stiles and end it that way. We've already burnt the original body, just now in fact, and now we need to get it as well."

Natasha takes all of this in calmly, even with Clint looking at her with a wide eyed look. "So some sort of parasite…what is it weak against?"

"Not much. Silver can hold and hurt it, but not kill. The kitsune mother and her daughter Kira both apparantly have katanas that can destroy it, but they aren't sharing, and I'm going to assume my angel blade can if I somehow manage to go flamey again, though that runs the risk of me passing out and disappearing again, or I assume it does from experience."

"You could always call one of us to kill it you know." Lucifer grumbles from beside her, and she pats his leg good-naturedly.

"Yes, but you've had your hands full lately, and I can't always run to you guys to protect me from the big bads. You need to focus on finding whoever is kidnapping Eve's kids to open Purgatory. Yes, I know it's technically your job," she says, noticing him frowning at that. "But other than making you an archangel again, your dad hasn't given me too many reasons to care about what he says. If it gets too bad, I promise I'll yell for help." Giving him a brief smile, she turns back to Natasha to continue the briefing. "So, my pack. I have two normals, my cousin Stiles and Chris's daughter Allison, though Allison has a little bit of training with different types of bows. I have a girl named Lydia who recently found out she's a banshee, all three of them could use basic combat training, and I'm trying to find a teacher for Lydia's other abilities. Wolf wise I have Derek, Isaac, Scott and the twins. Derek isn't too bad at fighting, or the twins, but the other two need help using their new strength to their advantage, as well as their other abilities." She pauses for a moment, thinking. "There's another normal kid who's been hanging around more lately, Danny, he knows about pretty much everything and may show up for training as well."

Natasha and Clint both listen attententively, though Clint twirls an arrow in his hands the entire time as Ashley describes her pack, as well as a little about the others not in the pack yet connected just the same, including Peter since they were likely to run into him at some point. Lucifer glances over at the other three while she does, noticing they've finally congregated and stayed at one point, and all three are muttering quietly to one another while JARVIS listens in and makes any notes needed while they go over the blueprint drafts. Chris seems to be talking about some sort of treehouse fort, which Tony actually seems interested in, though he wants to add more bells and whistles than needed. While he was a tiny bit interested in the proceedings( more so because Ashley was so invested in it), he still caught himself not really caring about the comings and goings of his fathers favorite monkeys. Generally he would catch himself, however, and remind himself that thinking like that wasn't the right way, that it never was.

He was coming around, though, with help from people who actually seemed to care. One of whom he was more than happy to keep an eye on, and would even if his father hadn't assigned him as her protector. The other being a baby brother who seemed convinced he just needed a good lay.

"Well, you seem to have a varied little group here." Natasha says finally, after finally hearing Ashley out in quiet contemplation. "And you say this Chris and Derek can help train once we're gone?"

"They seem to think so. It might not be to your level of expertise, but once everyone knows the basics it should be fine, and if anything you could do a bit of work with Chris and Derek as well. But everyone is up for the challenge considering how many times they've all been attacked."

"Good. Because even if I do go a tiny bit easier on them than I do on my regular trainees, it's going to be hard. Probably the most physical work that they've ever done, sports or not, and I don't pay attention to whining or complaining."

"I like to hope that won't be too much of a problem, but Stiles is…a very vocal person. I hate to keep comparing the two, but think a teenage Tony with Adderall. Smart as all get out, but equal amounts smartass."

Clint smirks at that description, throwing his arrow up into the air and catching it. "Sounds like fun. Want me to take him Tash? You know he's likely gonna oggle you the entire time, and he sounds like he's my kinda kid. Also, on a more serious note, with this nogitsune thing sapping his energy, he would have a harder time keeping up. Once they kill the thing, you can put him through your torture routine."

Natasha eyes him for a second, a look that would make smarter men squirm under the scrutiny. "Fine, you train him for now., but that doesn't mean you go too easy on him. He won't learn anything if you treat him like he's made of glass."

"Great!" Ashley says with a big smile, coming unsteadily to her feet and holding onto Lucifer when he offers her an arm. She waits for a couple of seconds for the dizziness to pass, glad that it finally seems to be coming less and less. "We better go check on the others. We may be used to Tony's antics, but Derek isn't great when it comes to patience and Chris keeps nearly as many weapons on himself as you do. If this home is gonna happen, Tony needs to live a bit longer." The other two nod at her with the tiniest bit of humor in their eyes, and sure enough, as the turn and walk towards the trio, Ashley can tell that Derek's small patience is wearing thing, as his normal glower is in full effect.

Tony looks up towards them as they approach, the same look in his eyes that he had when he questioned her on ghosts and spirits. "Angel cake! You're just in time, we just finished going over everything the refuge will need, plus a couple addons I want, and everything should fit perfectly on the land, especially with half the main house built underground. All I have to do now is start throwing money around so I can get this thing started!"

"He actually had a very good plan to start out with." Chris admits as Tony rolls up the blueprints, excitement all over his face at the prospect of a new project. Mainly he needed specifics on what most supernaturals would be hurt by so it doesn't somehow get put into the bedrooms, what extra rooms might come in handy, that sort of thing. From the way he describes, the house will be pretty much explosion proof. The treehouse fort idea was a hit, by the way. He wants to put in a trapdoor that will lead straight to the main house underground in case of emergency."

"Not only that, but after discussing the whole ward situation, he'll be putting a small guest house right outside them, for when we have guests that can't pass them for one reason or another." Derek adds in, crossing his arms across his chest. "Maybe a couple around the perimeter just in case, which will probably work perfect for security."

"Not that you'll it too much, but you never know." Tony finishes happily. "I've got all sorts of goodies planned and enough time and money to get it done right, and with these two hired on I can't go wrong."

"Wait, both of you are being hired on?" Ashley asks curiously. Normally the two had a barely there tolerance for each other, even if it had dimmed a bit, so the two working closely together was a bit unheard of.

"Yes, we agreed to share the security efforts and consulting for the house." Chris cleared for her. "My job is pretty much that anyway, only more on the weapons side, so its not that much of a stretch, plus I can keep an ear out on the hunter side of things for any useful rumors."

"While I handle the supernatural side of things." Derek finishes , eyeing Tony as he pulls a box of raisins seemingly out of nowhere and starts popping them in his mouth. "We'll both handle the hiring process for anyone we don't already know."

"And be your commanders in chief. " Tony interrupts, mouth full, though he quickly swallows when he sees the glare Natasha throws his way. Clint is honestly just glad she's glaring at someone else for once and enjoys his terror. "So any chance of real food? My snack pack won't last at this rate, and I gotta keep my mind fed, you know? Deep fried anything would be great. And lots of caffeine while I start making calls to get this thing started. ."

Ashley can very literally feel Lucifer rolling his eyes at the blatant change of topic to one of filling his stomach, even if he did sort of understand where the genius was coming from due to Gabriel and Ashley introducing him to some truly delightful meals. Humans were still so flighty to him sometimes. "Fine, we can head to a café I know. Best curly fries in town according to Stiles, and fried foods out the ass. After that, we can head to the house and meet up with the pack to start their tort…training. Luce, you coming?"

He snorts out loud. "Like I'd leave you alone with this group in your condition."

"Hey, don't be like that, I'm much better! And I can trust at least three of them!"

"Yea, I'm a perfectly responsible adult!" Tony complains, while the three mentioned smirk even without their names being said out loud. "I'll have you know I only stayed up three days straight last week, and only caused two explosions because of a mix of red bull jitters and miscalculations!"

"Tony?"

"Yea Angel Cake?"

"There's still motor oil in your hair, and it's dribbling down your forehead."

"…That proves nothing."


	16. Fortress of Soft

"Everyone, this is Clint and Natasha. They're going to spend a few days teaching you fighting basics while Tony clears the woods so he can start building the new home. I want you to listen to them the same you would listen to me, okay? They both know what they're doing, and have volunteered their time as a favor to me, so I don't wanna hear that you gave them any attitude, especially considering they could probably kill you with literally anything in this room and hide it all with their not so secret government agency that resides in a massive flying metal fortress. Any questions?"

There's complete silence from everyone the speech was actually directed at as they gape back and forth between their alpha and the two agents, Clint waving a dagger cheerfully at them while Tasha just stares stoically at them. Lucifer looks on from his corner of the basement with a smirk that had amazingly became much more frequent as of late, as he actually liked these humans and their interactions. The Sheriff stayed just long enough to hear the speech, before shaking his head and going back upstairs, muttering something about it not being 'not his circus'. Finally Scott raises his hand up after glancing around to see everyone else still silent and staring, and Ashley can't help but chuckle at his expression. "We're not in school, Scott, you don't have to wait to get called on. What's up?"

Scott blushes and lowers his hand. "Not to question your abilities or anything, but other than Alison, none of us really have any experience with weapons or fighting, except for when stuff attacks us and we just kind of react. Do you really think you can train us in, what, a couple of days?"

Ashley looks over to Tasha and inclines her head towards the spy. "You wanna take the floor on this one? It's your show after all." Tasha nods and steps into the place that Ashley occupied, while Ashley joins Lucifer in his corner of the room, watching everything. Clint joins her, leaning on the recliner shoved up against the wall, dagger still in his ever moving hands.

Eyeing them all, arms still crossed as she keeps an unreadable expression on her face, she addresses the group. "I can understand your reluctance. Being taught to fight or defend yourself is no small task, and one you need to pay attention to at all times, no matter the situation. At the same time, however, you need to pay attention to your surroundings as well. You have an advantage, however, that some don't, and that's the fact that not only have you been attacked before and somehow survived, you know something is out there actively working against you, and that puts you on alert. I've taught several people to fight, both so called experts and novices, and have no fear that I can teach you as well. The only question is whether or not you're willing to learn. If not, the door is over there. However, once we start, I won't accept whining or complaining, and I'll extend that to the ones who'll keep up your training once I leave. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nods mutely, having already agreed in the first place to go through with all of this, and she gives a grim little smile. "Perfect. Everyone bring their workout clothes? Then we're going to split into two groups for now, and go from there. Ladies, Stiles and Danny, you'll be with Clint. Everyone else, you'll be with me. We'll start out with basic stretches, then start into the fun stuff."

"How come all the wolvies are with you?" Stiles asks curiously, before everyone can stand, and Ashley has to muffle a groan. "These guys have, like, super strength, and I would think you would need a big muscle guy for that. Captain America maybe?"

Tasha, however, gives a little smirk at the question, and looks over at Derek. "Mind helping me with a little demonstration? I feel like this needs to be answered before we start." Derek looks surprised but comes forward, standing in front of her with his arms crossed. "Now, come at me, full strength."

"Uh, are you sure? Like Stiles said, We're pretty strong, and I don't want to hurt you."

Ashley hides a snort badly and leans over to Lucifer, whispering into his ear. "Boy, this'll be good. He might regret saying that." Lucifer chuckles darkly, while Chris, who just manages to hear the exchange, raises an eyebrow, looking back at the two in interest.

"Oh, don't worry about me, just do it." Tasha says with a smile, looking completely innocent. Derek shrugs and, eyes glowing blue, takes up a stance before rushing at her, hands raised into claws. Tasha stands there completely still as he comes at her, smile still on her face, as she catches his claws in her own hands, forces them both down at his sides and head-butts him, making him stagger. When he comes back at her, a bit angry and wobbly now, she goes down and dodges him, kicking his feet out beneath him, bringing him down, then flips him around wraps her legs around his head, squeezing until his face starts turning red. Derek somehow manages to tap out and Tasha immediately lets him go, eyeing all the teens in front of her as she sees the mingled fear, awe and respect in their eyes. "Any questions?"

"Nope. All good here. You're good? I'm good. We're all good. Maybe needing a change of shorts, but all good." Stiles quickly answers, face white and eyes wide. "I'm, uh, with the other guy with the sharp object right? Sounds good to me."

"Yea, come on kid." Clint says with a chuckle as Stiles edges far away from the red headed spy, Danny and the girls following him, even as Lydia looks back with a pout at her newfound hero. "I'm gonna work with you on some pretty basic techniques that don't require being some super strong weirdo, then work on your long range stuff. Tash is probably gonna have the others run around the block or something as a warmup, but honestly I only run if I have to so we're gonna drive back to the woods and practice there while Tash throws these guys around for a while." As his group follows him up the stairs and out of the house, Chris joining them to see their training first hand and to provide the weapons for target practice, Tasha lines the remainder of the group up against the wall to look them over and tell them exactly what she expects of them, sans Derek as he was still laying flat on the floor looking up at the ceiling with a dazed look. Ashley takes pity on the ex alpha and moves back towards his spot on the floor, leaning over him with a snarky grin.

"You gonna be alright down there big guy? You would think you've never been taken down by a girl before. Especially one half your size. Who isn't a supe. With no weapons. Should I go on?"

"Please don't." He groans, finally sitting up straight and looking her in the eye, still showing disbelief. "What the hell just happened? How in the hell did that just happen? Did…did your friend do something to me?"

"Please, like she would need Luci to do something to you to take you down. I told you, she's trained for this sort of thing, you should had listened to me the first time I said so, plus when she said so. Now, are you going to keep sitting there like a lump, or are you going to get up and see what she can teach you?"

Derek frowns at that. "I thought she was just training the teenagers? You know, the ones who don't know how to fight?"

"Yea well, she did take you down in less than 15 seconds, and she said earlier she'd work with any adults willing to learn as well. So what do you say, are you gonna work with the scary lady too? I promise as long as you don't complain she probably wont work you that bad." He glares at that, pushing himself up off the floor and standing up straight, giving her a side glance as he does, curiosity in his eyes.

"Wait, all of us are apparantly training…does that mean you are as well?"

"Me? No. Thanks to Gabe I have some training beamed into my brain, so I'll leave the tor..training to you guys. Besides, Luci probably wouldn't let me even if I wanted to, what with my brain trying to short circuit yesterday from momma monster powers."

"You'd be right about that." Says a voice from beside her, Lucifer having came to stand silently next to her while she bantered with the ex alpha. "The whole reason I'm sticking around today is to make sure she doesn't overexert herself after all…training with you wolves would definitely count. And the redhead. The archer seems a bit lazy so I honestly don't think it would do much good for her. The rest of you need all the help you can get it seems." The last bit is said with a dark grin, and Derek can't help the glare he sends the archangels way at the backhanded comment before he stomps off towards the rest of the group, Natasha giving no reaction but a raised eyebrow as he joins them.

Ashley sighs and looks over at Lucifer, who seems pleased with himself. "Did you have to do that? Now he's gonna be pissy all day."

"He shouldn't let his feelings get hurt so easily. Besides, the anger will make him work harder, I've trained enough warriors to know." He scoffs, and she just rolls her eyes. "The fact that she did take him down so easily means he has a lot to learn, even if not as much as the others."

Ashley heads up the stairs to leave the group alone to train, grabbing a green tea from the refrigerator before turning back to face him. "Yea, but she's a highly, highly trained professional. I mean, she does it for a living. So does Clint for that matter, even if he does come off as lazy like you said."

"And even with you telling him that, all of them that, he still underestimated her. Hopefully she'll beat that out of their heads."

She takes a long swig of the tea, serious look on her face. "I sure hope so. They've been going on mainly luck, and as scary as some of the things they've ran into are, I know for a fact there are scarier and meaner things out there. Hopefully this will help prepare them for some of it." She finishes off her tea and throws the bottle away, then turns to Lucifer, arms crossed. "Well? You're supposedly keeping me company to make sure I don't pass out or anything, so what do you wanna do? I'm assuming searching for the nogitsune is out of the question, and if we go keep Tony company I can see you vanishing his vocal chords in less than an hour."

He gives a tiny smirk, not arguing either fact. "That would be correct. As it is you have a tendency to jump into danger, and the last thing I need is for you to be hit by whatever chaos that thing is building up."

"Half of the time it's not on purpose, you know." She huffs good naturedly. "It just kind of happens to me, and around me, and around everyone else I seem to know. I guess this is how Sam and Dean feel all the time." She frowns, thinking hard on what to do considering her angelic shadow was unlikely to let her do anything too strenuous, then gets a big grin on her face as she thinks of something that, had Jace been here, he would have enjoyed himself immensely. "We're going to need a load of big sturdy pillows, one thick fuzzy blanket, and some thin light ones in the living room. If I can't move around, then I'm gonna be comfy. Oh, and a bucket of popcorn." Not waiting for him to respond, she practically skips to the living room( only pausing once to steady herself as she gets a bit dizzy). Lucifer stares after her for a moment before shrugging and following behind, summoning from who knows where the requested items as she turns to him with an excited gleam in her eyes.

**************( )****************

"I swear to someone they're both slave drivers." Stiles moans as he pops out of the shower to Scott, who jumps in after him, the group having met up back at his house once their training for the day was done. The boys had both scrambled up the stairs as soon as they could to wash off the sweat of the day, not having bothered to check on anyone else in the house, the girls having stopped at Lydias house first to do the same. Danny had been pointed towards the sheriffs bathroom to get his over with as well, and was currently sitting on the bed drying his hair, wearing the backup clothes he had stashed in his bag. "I mean, I know we need to learn this crap to survive all the nasties coming here, but at what cost? Running I can handle, Coach makes us do that crap all the time, but did you see her take out Derek? And then proceed to knock the rest of your asses out as well? Our dude was a little better, but there are bruises on top of my bruises!"

"Did you expect it to be easy?" Danny asks, raising an eyebrow at him as he stuffs his towel back into his bag and zips it up. "I haven't been part of this mixed up little group that long, but even I know this was going to be worse that Coaches practices. We're learning to defend ourselves with a spy and assassin, after all. And technically our group did have it easy, all we did was grappling, pressure points and defensive stuff. Natasha was actually hitting them, making them use their claws and strength, so I wouldn't be complaining. Though, I understand if that's hard for you, being you and all that."

Stiles glares at him as he pulls on a clean shirt from the pile stuffed in his closet, having not bothered to fold his laundry last time. "Hey, I resent that! Is it a bad thing that I speak my mind?"

"All the time."

"I have a lot on my mind! Pretty much all the time!"

"There's no denying that, seeing how often you rile Coach up. How many times have you gotten us extra laps around the field again?"

"….Shut up, I plead the 5th." Stiles says with a pout, digging through his desk drawers, frown deepening as he doesn't find anything and plops back on the bed. "Damn, my stash of pop tarts is gone. Maybe they'll have food downstairs. Scott, hurry up in there, its just a rinse and dry! No need to smell nice or anything!"

The water turns off as they here what sounds like Scott nearly tripping himself in the shower, before minutes later the werewolf stomps into the room with a blush, still dripping as if he hadn't bothered drying himself off before pulling on his clothes. Shaking his head violently like a dog to get some of the water out of his hair, he grins sheepishly at his two friends glaring at him for getting water all over them. "Eh, sorry. Force of habit. Did someone say food?"

The three of them head downstairs gingerly, feeling the burn in every single muscle from the workout they had done most of the day, even Scott with his increased healing. While Clints group had worked on grappling and defensive moves that day, Natasha had, true to her word, worked on teaching the wolves to use their strengths to their advantage, by at first using it against them, and needless to say even with their enhanced healing they were sore all over by the end of the day. They were both very good teachers, however, and even Stiles had to admit he had learned a little something today, even if he did still feel more comfortable with a bat in his hand for the time being. Not that it would do much damage mind you, but it was a confidence thing.

They had even seen equipment driving through the woods as they practiced, showing that Tony had indeed started the ball on getting the land cleared, even if he had been a no show the entire time they were there. In fact, as they were leaving, there was a loud sound of trees crashing to the ground as they began their work. At the pace everything was going, they were going to have a clean slate to work with in no time, as soon as Tony could finish a blueprint, and from what had been discussed so far the place was going to be almost a literal fortress, just with better living quarters and more children. The twins had already decided that they were going to work for Derek there, neither interested in attending high school again as it was, but wanting to stick around and make a home for once instead of constantly moving. As well, Deucalion was still on the move trying to make some amends for his actions, so they were more than happy to stay.

Feeling every muscle groan at him as he moved down the stairs (no matter what people say, taking cold showers to help sounded like pure torture), he pulled out his phone, starting to text the others and see if they wanted to meet for food, having enjoyed all the pack getting together so much lately. However, as he turned around the corner, he ran straight into Scott, who had stopped in place to stare into the living room. "Hey, what's the big deal? No blocking the…hall." He stops, mouth gaping open as he spied the contents of the room, or rather, the controlled chaos of it all.

First of all, the entire living room had been turned into a giant blanket fort spreading from one wall to the other, tall enough that you could still sit on the couch or chairs and see the television gracing the opposite wall. The blankets were a soft, dark blue color, with another blanket covering the entire floor, then on top of the floor blanket were large, plush pillows in a silver grey color made up of the same materials as the blankets, all perfectly laid out for lounging about on the floor for hours on end without a care in the world. Star Wars a New Hope was playing on the television, with several bowls of buttered popcorn sitting around various areas of the living room, two on either side of the couch with Ashley and Lucifer, as well as Clint and Natasha, who had someone both cleaned up faster than everyone else and made it back in time for the movie. All four, even Lucifer, were dressed in long pajama pants and various sized comfy tshirts, though he was fairly sure Ashley had talked the archangel into changing to match the rest, even if he was dressed all in black.

What grabbed Stiles attention, however, wasn't the blanket fort or the bowls of popped deliciousness everywhere. What all of his attention was on was the fact that Tony Stark and his father were both sitting on the floor, backs against the couch as both the women had their feet up on the seats with them, giggling like madmen as they both sipped on drinks that were clearly doctored up as he could smell it all the way across the room. John, finally seeing his son in the room, points his way with a big grin on his face, face flushed the slightest color of red. "Lookee there Tony, that's my son Mie... Miec….Stiles! Com'ere Stiles, this is my new friend Tony, he has a talking phone! And watch! And he makes a hell of an adult hot chocolate! "

Tony looks over at the teens with a matching grin, while both Natasha and Ashley roll their eyes at the two men. "Stiles! You're dad has told me all about you, apparantly you need a better wardrobe! Are you going to join us for Star Wars night? We're celebrating starting of the land contruc…well, destruction! Do you want a drink? No, wait, you're too young, right? I mean, who really pays attention these days.."

"No drinks Tony." Ashley cuts in, watching the scene with a tiny smirk. "Too young plus he has training again tomorrow. Pretty sure he needs to be on his game. All of them do, so no more offers."

"You're no fun Angel Cake." Tony says with a pout, even as John snorts beside him, taking a drink of his own. "They're kids, let em live a little!" He sees the glare coming from Natasha, however, and huffs loudly. "Fine, whatever. John will drink with me, won't you! Kampai!" They both cheer, clinking their drinks together and turn back to the movie, humming a very familiar tune as Stiles continues to stare on in horror.

"What the hell is going on? Have I stepped in a parallel universe where my dad is fun and happy and drinks in the floor with tech moguls? Is this a tumor messing with my brain? Did…did the torture today make me insane? Because I could swear there's a giant blanket fort in my living room, Star Wars is playing and my dad is giggling in the floor. Someone freaking pinch me." A second later he yelps in pain, turning to glare a Danny who in turn just smiles innocently at him. "I didn't actually mean it!"

"Don't say it if you don't mean it." Says Lydia from behind him, pushing past as her and Allison make themselves comfortable on the floor, grabbing a bowl of popcorn and digging in, both in soft flowy comfy clothes. As Stiles just continues to gape at the scene in front of him, the rest of the pack seems to somehow make their way in, finding their own patch of floor and settling in, all except for Chris who grabbed one of the chairs open, as well as a mystery mug handed to him by Tony. After a few seconds of sniffing it to see what exactly was in the mug, as well as glancing over at the for once relaxed sheriff, he took a tentative sip, lip curling up ever so slightly at the burn. Ashley watches as her flummoxed cousin finally gives in, squeezing in between Scott and Isaac and taking the offered popcorn, accepting that this was now his life.

Smiling at the scene before her, the entire pack plus friends gathered together for a relaxing night together, ignoring for the moment the dangers outside the warded home, she couldn't help but feel like it was bonding them even more closely together. Even Natasha, who seemed to be ready to be attacked at any moment, looked like she was a bit more relaxed, legs propped in Clints lap as she sipped her drink and watched the movie. Just the fact that her Uncle John had let his hair down enough to drink in the floor with Tony was heartening, though both would likely have hangovers in the morning. Derek had taken the other chair, not bothering to drink but gladly accepting a bowl of popcorn( Tony had brought seven boxes of butter explosion).

Even Lucifer seemed to be enjoying himself. After initially building the fortress, they had started the day watching The Producers, continuing his musical knowledge through the best of the best, then moving on to The Music Man. After that Tony had came over, done for the day as the ground breaking had started, and together they had used his engineering know how to make the fortress encompass the entire living room. After that he had insisted on a non musical as he made himself comfortable on the floor, but agreed that The Labyrinth would be a good compromise. However, once he discovered that Lucifer had never seen Star Wars, he made everything halt in place so he could make a crate full of popcorn and fix several drinks as John had made it home , taken a shot of whiskey when he saw what had happened to his living room, then let himself be dragged down to the floor by Tony to join the fun. After a couple sips of Tonys concoction, John had relaxed enough to start exchanging stories as they waited for Ashley to bring down her copies of the original trilogy. The rest was history as the two became fast, drunk friends.

Ashley was currently leaning in to Lucifer, sharing a bowl of popcorn with him as he let himself sink into the world of Star Wars, smirking every so often at the look of wonder on his face as he watched the little blue and white robot roll across the sand, the lightsaber flashing as Luke was trained aboard the ship. Honestly, she couldn't wait to see his face when he found out Vader was the father. Of course he would every once in a while go stiff, getting messages from Michael and Gabriel on the state of things as he explained after the first time it happened, but eventually he let his body relax once more to take in the movie.

For being basically under a weekend long angelic house arrest, it could have been a worse way to spend the day.

"Hey Angel food, you didn't tell me your uncle used to be Johnny Cage! What gives? Friends are supposed to share juicy tidbits like this with one another!"

Ashley frowns, turning to the two men, Johns face turning red. "Um, who the hell is Johnny Cage?"


	17. Tony is a Horrible Babysitter

The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur, and before they knew it, it was Friday all over again. Luckily, however, they got plenty of work in, on all sides, and the two SHIELD agents stayed the entire week to train with the pack, calling it a vacation of sorts from their usual line of work. None of the teens saw it that way, however, considering the workout they were all getting, but they learned after the second day not to complain where either of the two could hear them, especially after Stiles was used as the test dummy for everyone on the day they were told to show what they learned, and he got to have Natasha as a partner.

It only took an hour for him to wake back up, but the damage was done, and he stayed quiet after that.

The good news, however, was that Malia actually joined them all that Tuesday, having been checked out of the hospital and wanting to rejoin society since Ashley had offered her help. After much discussion and arguments( as well as telling Derek why it was a bad idea for her to stay at his loft, considering who her father was), Ashley convinced her uncle to let Malia stay in the second spare bedroom until the Home was built, where she would be one of its first occupants. The others were hesitant at first, but changed their minds after a short quiet talk with their alpha that was basically a scolding, and all the girls banded together to make her feel welcome with offers of tutoring, how to act like a normal teen, and just basically girl time. She gladly joined in on the training sessions, with Tasha actually complimenting her on her reflexes.

Ashley even got in on the action eventually, though it wasn't until Thursday that she was able to as her angel shadow refused to let her strain herself the entire weekend, the overprotective jerks, and even after the weekend finally ended she stayed busy with school and trying to track the nogitsune with Derek and Chris. Originally they weren't going to so early, but there had been a rash of violent pranks that had ended with Coach being injured by an exploding box full of nails, so they upped the bounty hunt, all searching together while the rest trained. Thanks to Tony the basement was now much more prepared for training , so they spent a good amount of time there within the protection of the wards while the others searched.

What they found disturbed them all to say the least. The nogitsune was piling as much chaos and despair on certain groups of people as it could, in order to suck it all back to nourish him, empower him. At one point, in an emaciated basement in the older part of town, they found a body of someone who had been dragged there before being literally sucked dry, leaving a mummy like corpse behind. It took a bit for her to get her bearings back after seeing that, but she managed to call her uncle John before making their way out, trying to find some sort of trail, but even by scent there was nothing. They all had a good drink that night to try and erase the image of the drained body from their minds, as it didn't matter how many times you saw something like that, it never got easier.

The day after they found the body Tasha drug her out into the sparring mat to get her out of her slump, having seen her idle too long and promising that it would boost the morale of the rest of the pack to see her training with the rest of them. Ashley readily agreed, glad all the angels were busy at the moment to stop her, because, as much as she loved them, they saw her as fragile and easily broken. Compared to them she probably was, but in her mind it was no excuse. That day they had separated into boys with Clint and girls with Tasha, with Chris and Ashley working as sparring partners for the two teachers, and everyone was in clothes that were easy to move around in, perfect for dodging and rolling around. Ashley, even knowing that Tasha wasn't going to be using her full strength, didn't see herself matching the assassin at all skillwise, and frankly everyone else expected to see her get knocked on her ass much like Derek was.

They were all surprised, including her, when thanks to Gabe's gift of reflex and fighting knowledge, she was able to keep up for a while and hold her own, far after Chris had tapped out, and there was a grudging respect in both Tashas' and Malias' eyes at that fact. Secretly they both agreed to do it again at a later time with no audience to see just how far those skills could go, and to perhaps hone them a bit.

The big standout, however, was her uncle stepping into the mat and showing off a few skills. After Tony broke the news about him being an old action movie star for a couple of B karate movies, they all begged him to show them what he could do. The next day when the hangover wore off and he had an hour before his shift, he faced off against Clint, effectively knocking him off of his feet slamming him to the ground, leaving a wide eyed Clint looking up at him, and the rest of the group gaping openly at him…all except Tony, who wore a look of absolute glee at the fact that he had met the hero of his favorite cult action movie and had effectively gotten him rip roaring drunk. John had left quickly after that, cheeks red from embarrassment and heavy breathing.

Speaking of Tony, due to lots of work and lots of money thrown the get said work done, the land was now completely cleared and ready for the foundations to be built, underground area and all. After an incident where one of the bulldozers exploded( due to an extra large potato stuffed in the exhaust, the nogitsune strikes again), Tony had vowed to stick around to oversee most of the building himself, as well as make sure the worker manning the bulldozer had all of his hospital bills taken care of. Ashley and Tasha tried to argue several times that he had an entire company to run, but he simply responded that Pepper could run it much better than he could, the only thing he even took care of himself now was research and development and the Winchesters travel goodies. Tasha face palmed in her own way, which was basically a twitching of the eyes, and finally told it that if he got injured by the nogitsune, on his head be it.

Tony argued it would be a great research opportunity, and Ashley swore that Tashas' hand moved towards one of her many hidden weapons.

Other than that, the only other thing of worth that week was for Ashley only, and so far it was only at night. Ever since Sunday night, Ashley had woken to what felt like tiny furry bodies curled into her side, sometimes one, sometimes more than one, all gone by the time her alarm went off in the morning, but by Thursday she finally figured out what was happening, and decided not to complain, though she did warn Crowley about it. Apparantly the hellhound puppies were popping in to where ever she was sleeping and cuddle next to her, sometimes burrowing into her arms and legs, one night curling up on her chest, one night on top of her spare pillow. The only reason she knew this was because she woke up five minutes before her alarm went off one morning, and opened her eyes to see Gwen curled up next to her head, little wet nose inches away from her own. Ashley quite honestly couldn't help the little coo that came out of her mouth, and, after kissing Gwen on her head, giggled as the hellpup woke up and yelped, popping away.

"Don't mind them." Crowley said when she told him of her little visitors. "Its just further proof that they have a bond with you, and quite honestly the only thing that would stop them would be if you asked them to stop. I don't see it as an issue for now, unless you do for some reason?"

"Oh no, I don't mind at all." Ashley says quickly with a big smile, cuddling the hellpup in her arms mercilessly. "I just wanted to make sure you and Growly were okay with it. I know I would be worried if my baby disappeared to parts unknown. I kinda like the little guys company if they don't mind."

And that was that. After that, the pups started cuddling with her under the cover instead of on top, and Ashley slept much more soundly, even if her dreams had a sense of the familiar that lurked on the edge of her mind, but progressed no further.

*************( )**************

"We're going hunting with you tonight." Tasha informs Ashley coolly, having shown up out of the blue at the end of her lesson, watching her protégés leaving with no expression on her face. They, on the other hand, had shown mild alarm as the humans among them limped away speedily, the wolves having already healed from last nights training (which had included getting smacked over and over again with blunt sticks). Once the class was empty, she shut the door and made her way up to the front desk. "We know you haven't made much progress, and even if no one else has noticed it, Stiles is getting slightly weaker. Let us help."

Ashley just kind of gapes at her for a couples of seconds before sighing heavily, standing up and gathering her stuff. Tasha joins her as she starts walking out of the classroom and towards the school exit. "I suppose more help couldn't do much damage, if we don't find something soon fox mama is going to come after him, and I'd hate, only slightly mind you, to take her demons shadows out of commission. I'm assuming Tony isn't part of this?"

Tasha smirks slightly. "Are you kidding? Smart as he is, I'm afraid he'd want to study it instead of trying to take it out. No, Tony is hosting another movie night for your pack, with the help of your uncle, to keep them occupied while we try and take care of this." She pauses, looking thoughtful for a moment. "He was kind enough to have a couple of special silver weapons ordered, however, and they were delivered this morning. Not much, just a couple of silver knuckles, silver tipped arrows for Clint, , and some silver infused chains in case we find this nogitsune and manage to catch it."

"Honestly, the knuckles and chains ill be the most helpful with this nasty, though Crowley gave me a heads up that silver can kill the Oni if applied the right way, and most other supes are affected in one way or another." Ashley says as they push open the school doors, heading into the parking lot, where Clint is seen leaning up against a pitch black jeep that put Stiles' baby to shame. "If we can't kill it though, I would like to capture and drag it somewhere to dispose of, maybe call fox mama and let her know we have it. She says she has a weapon that can kill it, and it will probably give her closure to gank the fucker."

"And if she can't?"

"We'll figure out something. Try my angel blade, or figure out the whole, change the host scroll we got from Silverfinger." She doesn't see the sharp, considering look Tasha sends her as they make it to the jeep parked next to her bike, and she gives Clint a searching look. "So, I heard you two are helping us hunt tonight. What happened to being on vacation of a sorts?"

Clint just shrugs. "Still less than our actual job. We're not in hiding, or flying across the world in a rickety plane, or being chased and shot at by terrorists. I'd say this is light duty if anything."

"Hey, I'm not complaining, the more the merrier. Do Chris and Derek know yet, or do I need to tell them?"

"Not yet, we figured they'd take it better if it came from you. Go ahead and text them, have them meet us at your house around 2, and we'll go over what you have so far before heading off. That ok with you?"

"….If I say no would it do much good?"

"Nope." Clint says with a sardonic grin, climbing into the jeep and putting his sunglasses on. "It'd just delay the inevitable."

*************( )**************

Once Chris and Derek met them at the house, they spent an hour going over every little detail they had found so far, trails, hiding places, placement of traps, the whole works, making sure everyone was on the same page before they went on the hunt. Tasha and Clint had already changed into clothes that, while not their unsual SHIELD getup, was close enough that it could pass even without being leather and skintight, with Tasha wearing all black and Clint a mix of purple and black, with their special silver weapons kept close on their person. Ashley had changed into her Winchesteresque hunter clothes while waiting for the others to arrive, her only weapon being her blade and one of the sets of silver chains, and Chris and Derek naturally showed up ready to go.

They had just finished going over everything when the pack began to show up, Tony having already set the living room up for that nights movie marathon, which apparantly consisted of the Ewok Adventure movies and then moving on to the new trilogy, even it didn't hold a flame to the original. Seeing all the adults in their gear, however, caused them to pause as they saw them huddled around the kitchen table, papers in front of them, Stiles walking up with a curious look on his face. "What's going on? Because that does not look like comfy movie clothes, and you're all way too serious looking."

Ashley sighs, the turns to face him. "That's because we won't be here for the movies. We're going hunting for the nogitsune again, while all of you stay here inside the wards where it can't get to you. Tasha thinks that with her and Clint joining us, we might be able to pull it off."

Scott frowns at that, along with Isaac and the twins, though the girls seem accepting of their plan. "Wait, what about us, can't we help? We've all been training for this kind of thing, haven't we?"

"No, you've been training so that if you get I to trouble, you can defend yourself and others, not so you can go looking for it." Tasha says harshly, stepping forward. "None of you should go looking for trouble unless you have no other choice, just as fighting should always be a last choice. You have brains, so use them! You're clearly safe inside this house, so let the people trained for this do their jobs."

"Think of it Stiles." Ashley says gently, seeing some of the boys getting their feathers ruffled. "What happens if one of you gets caught in one of the nogitsunes traps, and hurt the way coach was? He could get a hold of you and suck the pain from you, the way he did the corpse we found. Not only that, but he could keep you trapped and hidden so he could use you as a constant power source. Do you want to risk that?"

Everyones face falls at that, though the wolves still have an air of stubbornness about them, and she breathes the tiniest sigh of relief. "Fine." Stiles finally says. "But if there's any word of you being in trouble, we're coming after you, No arguments. Besides, I'd like the chance to punch the evil me in the face for making me so tired all the time."

"Kid, I promise when we catch him, you can punch him twice if you like, long as we get to make sure he's taken care of not long after." Clint says, ever the sarcastic ice breaker and Ashley can't help but be grateful for it. Stepping forward she gives Stiles a quick hug, ruffling his hair fondly much to his embarrassment, before shooing him out of the kitchen towards the living room with the others. Tony saunters in as the pack starts making themselves comfortable in the living room, pillows and blankets already set up in the floor, the smell of popcorn heavy in the air, and gives them a pouty look.

"I can't believe that you're going monster hunting without me." He says, taking a sip of his drink, no alcohol this time as Ashley had asked him to be a semi responsible adult, but still almost completely chocolate. "I could be a big help you know, the suit can sense heat signatures, I could blast things…are you sure I can't come along? It's not every day you get to hunt an evil fox spirit thing!"

"No, Stark, you can't come along." Tasha says, glaring at him just enough to make him pout, if possible, even harder. "A larger, louder group isn't always best, and while you could provide a decent distraction, there's likely to be traps everywhere the closer we get to it, and we need people used to sneaking around them, not blasting through."

"Just, stay here with the pack Tony, please. If we manage to catch it, we'll be stashing the nogitsune somewhere to kill it anyway." Ashley says with a smile, mentally laughing at the sight of Tony Stark pouting like a child. "Just stay here and enjoy the movies, at least the Ewok ones anyway. Help keep uncle John company, just be here in case something happens."

"Just because the ward surrounds the house doesn't mean nothing will happen." Chris adds in, checking his guns then holstering them into his side holders. "It just means nothing that means anyone inside can cross. They can still happen right outside the ward, and it is a house full of teens. Be here just in case."

"Fine." Tony finally relents, arms crossed over his chest. "But I'm pumping them full of chocolate and popcorn, and I've already decided to intern at least three of them, so there. Not only that, but the twins have already been offered positions on my security team at the tower. Gotta love that sense of smell! Go enjoy your little hunt or whatever, I didn't really want to go anyway. Stupid trudging around at night…." The last part is murmured quietly to himself as he shuffles back into the living room to start the movies, and Derek can't help but shake his head at it all.

"To think, that guy is technically my boss, and is building a giant childrens home on my family land. And owns a huge tech company. And is technically a genius." Does anyone else find that that strange?"

"Every day I'm forced to interact with him." Tasha says flatly, double checking all of her weapons. Finally convinced everything is in order, she looks to make sure everyone else is ready as well, then nods. "Let's do this, while we still have some daylight. Everyone have their coms? Silver for those of us who can touch it? Then let's do this. We'll start looking around the area you found the last body then spread from there, and under no circumstance is anyone to end up alone, understand? Then lets get this done."

************( )*************

Unfortunately, while Tasha and the rest of the group began to search the warehouse district for signs of the nogitsune, said spirit had already made its way out and about into the town, still pale as death with an aura surrounding it of anger and persistence. The trap it had tried to lay out in the sheriffs office hadn't panned out as, not only were Hale and Argent no longer at each others throats, but one of the other wolves had came in with the sheriffs niece, and managed to find the bomb before it could go off due to being able to smell the power, and hear the ticking, ever so faint. After that, all it had taken was a few steps taken by the new Parrish, and bomb was disarmed, denying him the nights meal. He was starting to go hungry again, and it was starting to show…which meant it was time for desperate measures.

Luckily, it had just the measure thanks to an old acquaintance. The night before it had followed Kira home, to where it knew the original summoner lived, sensing her presence and her power. Waiting right before sundown it had snuck into the house, searching each room until it found what it was looking for, stashed to the side while the fox showered, not believing even the nogitsune had the balls to enter her home. As it opens the box, grinning maniacally as it removes the oldest of the tails, there is a gasp from behind it, and it slowly turns to face Noshiko, covered in just a towel with water dripping from her hair. "Good to see you again." It rasps with a teenagers voice, edged with malice as they stare each other down. "You really shouldn't leave these things around, you know, anyone could just come in and take one."

"Give it back to me now spirit!" She cries, holding the towel tightly around herself. "It has no use for you."

"Oh, I beg to differ. I can think of many worthwhile things to do with Oni at my beck and call. Can you imagine it? You did once upon a time…what happened to that woman who cried for chaos, strife and pain to overtake everyone and everything?"

"I grew up!" She growls, eyes starting to glow as she steps forward closer to it."I no longer crave those things, now I just want calm, and peace, and my family to be happy, my daughter to be safe."

"That's just too bad, because I constantly crave all of those things, and always will." With that, the nogitsune slices his stomach open with the tail and evaporates into a cloud of glowing flies, heading towards the metropolitan of the city, ready for a meal. Noshiko's face goes pale as she drops to her knees, realizing the entirety of what just happened, before rushing to put clothes on and hopefully control some of the damage she was sure to run into.

**************( )****************

"Do we have to watch the new first Star Wars movies? I can understand the Ewok movies, they're a national treasure, but any movie with Jar Jar is a travesty. I'm convinced he's actually a Sith Lord who orchestrated the entire war, no one is that clumsy, lucky and idiotic all at the same time." Stiles whines from the floor as the second Ewok movies ends and Tony grabs the remote, having signed into his account for basically everything you could get movies from for the best possible selection. "Can't we watch something, I don't know, good?"

"Like what pip squeak? We literally have almost every movie ever made to choose from, and as much as I agree with you, it was supposed to be a Star Wars night." This gets a vast array of answers from all corners of the room.

"Heathers?"

"Red vs Blue?"

"Tombstone?"

"Ghostbusters?"

"Star Trek?"

"Interview with a Vampire?"

Tony stares at all of them for a second, not actually expecting halfway decent choices considering the were all at least 20 years younger than him. "Not bad, but doesn't Interview with a Vampire seem a little close to home? Have…have you met any vampires yet? Is it like that bad Hellsing movie where if a werewolf bites a vampire, the vampire dies?"

Ethen raises a hand slowly. "I've ran into vampires, and can confirm that doesn't actually work, it just pisses them off royally."

Everyone but his twin turns to stare at him disbelievingly, and John gapes openly before shaking his head and sipping again on his hot cocoa, normal this time. "How did you get away?" Lydia asks curiously.

Ethen shrugs. "The rest of the pack surrounded it, and it knew better than to take on a whole pack of alphas, so it ran to get its meal somewhere else. We left the town soon after that, so didn't have any more issues."

"Huh. I figured you would have ran into all sorts of fun creatures here." Tony says lightly with a shrug, clicking through his movies, 2 finished bowls of popcorn next to him. "Seeing how all of you managed to get together somehow. Angel cake said this was almost a supernatural nexus, or something like that."

"We've ran into plenty of stuff, but most of it wasn't that much fun." Scott says, looking around at the others to see them nodding in agreement, faces serious. "But that's why we're getting this training though, right? So we can protect ourselves if we need to, which, I hate to say, we're probably going to need to again sooner or later, whether it's the nogitsune or not."

Stiles lets out a heavy sigh. "That kind of shit does tend to make its way towards us. And bash us over the head, and stick us in torture basements."

Allison snorts out loud at that. "Yes, but half the time it seems you and Scott go looking for it. Didn't you get Derek put in jail last year because you dug up his sisters grave?"

"Yes, he did." John chimes in from the recliner, and Stiles flushes red. "And he won't stay out of my case files. I have to leave them at work now because I'm afraid he'll go chasing bad guys again…more so than usual I mean."

"Well, at least nothing can get you in here." Tony says, finding Tombstone and putting it on. "Sure, it doesn't help if you leave the house, and you have to go to school or home at some point, and the SHIELD spies have you training next to the building site half the time, but I'm sure it's a small comfort, right?" As he says this, Scotts cell starts to ring and, looking down to see who it is, he frowns and answers it.

"Mom? What's up I'm at Stiles house….are you okay?" As he listens, every wolf there is able to hear as well, eyes widening as they hear the noise in the background of the call as well, and soon every one of them has jumped to their feet, panic written all over their face.

"What's wrong?" Allison asks as Scott ends the call, face pale white as he look to the rest of the pack. "Scott, what is it? You look like someone died!"

"My mom…." Scott starts, starting to fidgit, eyes starting to glow from the high emotion running through him. "The nogitsune is at the hospital with my mom…and so are the Oni. They're attacking people…mom got sliced down her arm. My dad is with her, but his arm is still in that sling, and he can't do much." He turns to the two adults pleadingly. "We have to help them!"

"Whoah kid, just a minute." Tony says, standing and holding his hands out. "I'm supposed to be watching you guys whole the others are hurting this thing, I'm pretty sure that doesn't include letting you run headfirst into trouble! They're tracking this thing anyway, so there's a good chance they're already there!"

"But what if they're not? What if they're following a dead end, and can't get out and there in time? Those things are attacking people right now, we can't afford to wait! Tony, that thing has already hurt my mom!"

Tony looks at all the teenagers in the room, defiant and stubborn looks on their faces, then to John, who looks completely out of his element but ready for something, and lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm assuming you're going to do this with or without me, so I might as well help. But, if we're going to do this, we're doing it my way, and that means weapons and disguises for those of you actually fighting, got it? If you have powers, or bows, or whatever, you hide your face so no one can tell who you are. Cage, you coming with?"

John rolls his eyes at the nickname Tony forced him to accept even after begging him not to use it, but stands up anyway, nodding in confirmation. "I kinda have to. Like you said, we're supposed to be the adults in charge, just let me get my uniform and gun so it looks official. What are you taking?"

Tony just gives a grim smile, lifting the suitcase he literally refused to go anywhere without. "Oh, you know, the usual. Time to see how much damage I can do to evil spirits and smoke demons." He looks to the group of teen. "Suit up, you guys have 3 minutes before we leave."

As the assorted group rushes around to get what they need, the humans heading downstairs for where they keep their weapons, Tony feels a rush of guilt as, after he unsuccessfully tries to call Ashley, he sends her a text message and tells JARVIS to keep trying. There was a very high chance that she was going to murder him for this, or something even more horrible, like have Pepper take all the coffee out of the tower and watch him become a husk of a man.

Or worse, actually make him go to board meetings.


	18. Not Tonys fault this time

"You know, I expected to find, well…more, when you said we were monster hunting." Clint grumbles to Tasha as they exit the last area they were searching for nogitsune signs, having found nothing but leftover trap components and blood splatters that were clearly days old. "I expected some sort of fight, the way the talked about the amount of encounters they have in this little town. I mean, its why we're training them all, right?"

"Are you seriously complaining about a quiet night? With what we do for a living?" Tasha asks with a raised eyebrow, leaning against a light pole as they wait for the others. They had all been out for about three hours searching, and honestly it was the easiest job they had ever been on. "Let's just enjoy the quiet while we can….quiet for us, at least. And yes, that's what we're training them for, they're a bunch of kids with no control over what happens around them who keep being stuck in dangerous situations. Sound familiar?"

Clint just glares at her, crossing his arms across his chest as he sticks out his tongue at her. Tasha doesn't bother reacting, pressing on her comm to speak with the others. "We're at the meeting point when you finish, nothing but old traps and blood unfortunately, looks likes he moves around a lot. How about your end?"

"Same." Ashley answers with a yawn on the other end. "Though Derek said it smelled like he had been in the school basement recently, dismantled some sort of nail trap. We're almost back now though. It's funny, I expected to find more, as much as this thing likes to build traps and cause just general mayham….at least something in case we go snooping around more. It honestly worries me a bit. Am I being paranoid? Chris here is shaking his head, but something in my gut just feels…off."

"I found going with your gut is usually the best choice, and it's never a bad thing to be a bit paranoid, as long as it doesn't go too far. This thing…it likes to play games. Question is, what game is it playing with us right now? And who else is playing?"

The other three make it back to the point after a couple of minutes, none of them happy with the findings and matching frowns on all of their faces. Ashley, still feeling something odd in her gut, frowns further as she feels a warm something emanating from her pack mark. Feeling getting stronger she pulls out her phone, having turned it completely on silent as to not lose their stealth while searching, and pales as she sees 4 missed calls, as well as a message from Tony, simply reading, 'Angel cakes you better pick up. Also, don't kill me. Also, its not my fault'.

"Hey guys, somethings wrong….I've got a weird feeling from my pack mark, and I've got four missed calls and a message from Tony that says pick up now. I'm gonna call back really quick." Before she can, however, there is a movement from the shadows, and two of the Oni walk forward. Unlike last time, however, they are armed, and heading steadily towards them with intent.

"Don't those things belong to the kitsune?" Natasha asks, puzzled, though her hands touch on her weapons. "I thought you had a ceasefire with her?"

"We do." Chris says grimly, gun out and aimed at the demons. "And even if we didn't, she knows Stiles is the one connected to the nogitsune, not any of us. They would go directly for him. Which means,…"

"These weirdos aren't friendlies." Clint finishes, ducking out of the way as one swings at him, throwing a hit of his own with the bow and missing before dancing away. "Whats the plan then?"

"If they're not friendlies, they need to be stopped." Ashley says, switching to her angel blade and backing up as it changes to a familiar sword. "Remember, silver weapons out, it's the only thing that can kill them other than my blade. Nat, if you and Chris can shoot them with your silver bullets, Clint and I can finish them off." They don't answer, but she notices that Chris tosses Derek a gun real fast and they all start moving, Ashley blocking a blow from one of the katanas as Clint ducks and dodges like the true circus kid he used to be, staying just out of range of the shadowy blade. He tries to hit the oni with the actual bow at one point, but is just goes right through as if made of smoke.

Ashley on her end just keeps on the defensive, waiting for one of them to get a hit to at least slow it down long enough for her to get a blow in, managing to get nicked once or twice from very near hits. Nat manages to get a shot into the Oni Clint is fighting and it staggers, pausing long enough for him to pull back one of his silver arrows and hit it right over where the heart would be, the Oni bursting apart as it dies, mask clattering to the ground before it shatters into pieces. One down, the others focus on her Oni, who makes it harder to hit as it stays nearly right on her, giving barely any room for a safe shot without the risk of hitting her as well. As a small trickle of blood goes down her leg from a small would, she grits her teeth, readying herself as she suddenly grabs the other end of the blade and, holding both ends, blocks the next swing from the Oni and pushes with all her might, pushing it back a foot, just enough for all three of the guns to get a shot in. Once they do, she lets go and swings her sword, separating the head from the body and watching it dissolve as well, before leaning back against the wall and breathing deeply. "Fucking demon ninjas. You guys all right?"

Everyone nods silently, catching their breath for a couple of seconds as they go over the fact that the minions of their ally just came after them, with intention to harm and/ or kill at that. Mind racing at the implications, she starts as her phone starts ringing, echoing loudly in the empty lot as she looks down to see Tony on the caller id. Glancing around at the others as they all gather around her, she answers the call, putting it on speakerphone for everyone to hear. "Heyy Angel cake, glad you finally picked, we got a problem and you might wanna head this way. Also none of this is my fault, I want to emphasize that whole heartedly."

Ashley sighs loudly as Natasha rolls her eyes at his attempt at waylaying the blame. "Would it have anything to do with the fact we were all just attacked by two Oni?" She stops for a moment as there is a sounds of a muffled scream in the background. "Tony, where the hell are you? Where are the rest of the pack? Why am I hearing screams?"

"Yeaaa about that….Scott got a call from his mom, the nogitsune and two Oni started attacking the hospital. I'm pretty sure he would have headed there no matter what, which is understandable, so as the responsible adults, John and I had all the kids grab weapons and disguises so they could try and help and headed there with him instead. I know you wanted them in the house, but I couldn't let the kid go alone, and I kinda also couldn't exactly sit around while shadow demon things attack a hospital. Priorities and all that. Should I be worried you aren't talking?"

As Ashley closes her eyes and counts to ten, she opens her eyes to see the rest of them looking at her with varying expressions, from stoic to worried. Giving a minute sigh, she finally answers. "No, you…you did the right thing. He would have gone off by himself like you said, and the others would have followed. Where are you now?"

"The ER exit making sure the civs get out ok. The kids and Johnny boy are watching the exit, shooting a bit of silver tipped stuff here and there to keep them away. Seems the new weapons are working ok so far. Unfortunately, his mom and dad are trapped on one of the floors, in an elevator I think, and the Stiles wanna be is wandering around."

"All right, just hold tight and we'll be there soon as we can. Keep them safe, Tony."

"Can do Angel." Ashley hangs up the phone, letting out a string of curse words in various degrees of creativeness that at one point even has Natashas eyes widening slightly. When she finishes, she takes a deep breath and looks around at her partners in crime for the nights adventures.

"Sorry about that, I needed it. You guys ready to actually catch what we were hunting? Because I kinda wanna bring this fucker down already, stop it from leeching Stiles."

"Eh," Clint shrugs, little smirk on his face. "Whats a vacation without doing something dangerous. You calling your angel buds? Or the demon, for that matter?"

"The demons name is Crowley, and no…they're likely too deep undercover to hear me…we do this ourselves." The others nod in agreement and all head to their respective vehicles, Chris in the lead as the Calvary heads towards the hospital for what hopefully would be the last night going after this asshole.

*************( )*************

The first thing they notice is the smell of blood emanating from the inside of the hospital, instead of the normal, bleach and wetwipe clean smell you would expect from a place dedicated to health and healing. It smelled instead like the ER right after a major wreck, when ambulances all rush in with the victims all needed urgent medical attention. The second was that, while there were surprisingly few bodies, there were several bloody drag marks on the hard floor, going out of the hospital as well as back in. She liked to think, as they made their way deeper into the hospital, that most of the drag marks were from Tony and the pack helping victims out, but deep inside she knew not every one of them was. In fact, from the MO of the nogitsune, some of them were likely from it dragging people off to feed off of their fright and pain.

As they venture deeper and higher into the hospital, her fear is confirmed as she sees one or two bodies drained like the last one found, and she grits in teeth in anger. This pissant needed to be stopped tonight, before anyone else could be drained. Reaching the top floor, she looked around beside Natasha to see if anyone is out and about, as the last she had heard, Tony and the others had moved up here to try and get to Melissa. Not seeing anyone at first sight, they all move up onto the floor from the stairs, silently splitting up, just barely, to cover both hallways, still in sight of the other. As they both turn a corner, they hear voices speaking, most angry, one familiar but not, and they peek around to see the pack all guarding an open elevator, Melissa and her ex husband inside said elevator, both bloodied up and not looking well. The long range pack members were standing inside the elevator with them with their weapons raised, while the more physically inclined were guarding the front, the wolves with fangs and fur out. Tony was standing in front of Stiles, hand cannon raised, while Stiles had what looked like his baseball bat, fierce look on his face.

Facing the, back to the newly sneaking in group, was two more Oni and what could only be the nogitsune, skin pale with black veins and her cousins stolen face, eyes black as he stares the little group down coldly. As he speaks, Ashley can tell that her little group has already been fighting already, bloodied up and out of breath, even Tony sporting a cut on his forehead. From the corner of her eye, she spots Clint and Natasha holding the silver and mountain ash infused net and chains, and she nods silently to them as the sneak ever closer, Tony finally seeing them and just hiding a smile.

"I don't know what did to keep us from being completely connected," The nogitsune starts again, getting her attention once more. "But you'll live to regret it. Unlike the rest of your little friends, you will still live. As long as you live, I can keep feeding off of you, if just barely. As long as you live, you can watch your little friends die all around you as I take in every bit of fear, and anger, and chaos, and all those delicious emotions running through them. And the wolves? They'll be oh so delicious, I'll enjoy them as long as I can. Did you know the change just triples rush I get from them? Makes them like a finely aged scotch next to a bunch of bargain bin beers. I may even find a way to change you, so the feeding will be that much better."

"In your dreams pal!" Stiles yells from his hiding place behind Tony, gripping his bat tighter. "You can just get your jollies somewhere else!"

"Besides, haven't you heard its never a good idea to monologue to the good guys? That's basically villain 101! Where did you learn to be a bad guy, online courses? Las Vegas?" The nogitsune turns to glare wrathfully at Tony as he says this, the Oni beside him raising their swords his way, as John raises a gun higher beside him, clearly not comfortable with his sons doppelganger. Ashley, however, focuses on a particular part of the nogitsunes little speech, as it brings forth to her mind something they had been puzzling over for a while. The nogitsune had said the change made them taste better….could that be the same change that could be the nogitsunes downfall?

Did they just need Scott to bite him?

Making up her mind, she summons her sword and steps away from the corner, catching Natashas eye as she does so with a short nod, hoping they get what she's doing. "He's right you know, monologing is never a good idea, you never know what you might give away." As the nogitsune whirls around to face her, anger on his face, she makes sure his back is still towards the others. "And if you think I'm going to let you feed off of anymore people, you're dumber than you look."

"And who the hell do you think you are?" the nogitsune growls, Oni antsy beside him. The rest of the pack seems to be relieved to see her, though they don't lose their fighting stance.

"Their pack alpha, for one. And the person who already has taken out one of the Oni sent after me. So, you know, back the fuck off before I shove my archangel blade right up your black veined ass."

The nogitsune scoffs at her, even as Tony gives her the biggest shot eating grin for her little speech. "So you are the one who took out the Oni I sent out earlier. And you think you can take me out with your little sword on your own? Don't make me laugh. I'm a different breed than these mindless shadows, ageless and immortal. You're just a little girl with a shiny sword. Not even worth a meal." He gestures to her, and one of the Oni heads towards her, sword raised. However, before it can even reach her, there is a silent whistle, and the tip of a silver arrowhead pierces out the front of its chest, causing it to dust almost instantly. Everyone looks towards Allison, who gives a little smirk, another arrow already nocked into place.

"Sorry, my finger slipped."

With an animalistic growl of rage, the nogitsune stalks towards the little group, Oni at his side as the group readies themselves. However, Clint and Natasha take the chance to strike themselves, throwing the net partially on the nogitsune and wrapping it with the chain for added protection, slipping a lock on as the pack takes care of the last Oni. The nogitsune screams and thrashes fiercely but the two spies did their job well, making sure nothing would be escaping anytime soon. "Let me go you insects! I will devour you all slowly!" However the screaming stops as John stuffs a rag into the nogitsunes mouth, before securing it with duct tape. Ashley takes the chance to take out the remaining Oni before it can move to attack as well as her uncle does this, changing the sword back once the danger is finally taken care of.

"You have no idea how many times I've wanted to do that to my Stiles." He says when she gives him an amused look. "It's surprisingly cathartic."

**************( )*************

"Does anyone else feel like that whole hospital fight ended up being really anticlimactic? I expected so much more when evil Stiles went on the attack, but instead as soon as that net closed up on him he was out of the fight. Kind of a let down. Is that bad? Am I a bad person? Wait, don't answer that, I already know the answer."

Everyone glares at Tony, including the trapped nogitsune, and he huffs into silence. Once they had the nogitsune secured tightly in its silver infused chains, they left John, Scotts dad and Melissa to talk to the authorities they called, feeling they were the best to handle it now that Scotts dad had been forcefully brought into the know, they got out while they could and brought the nogitsune to Dereks loft, as they couldn't bring him back to the house. They called Kira's mother from there, asking her to come to the loft so she could finish what she unfortunately started all those years ago.

While they waited, everyone cleaned their wounds, those that weren't wounded helping to patch up the others, Ashley glaring down the wolves who tried to argue that their wounds would heal until they gave in. Chris found it quite amusing, watching the super strong wolves being strong armed by a woman they could snap like a twig into letting themselves get cleaned by the stuff she kept in her self made emergency kit. They knew it made her feel better, though, so they gave in. Natasha, however, did have to make her stop eventually as well so her leg could get its own patch job, she was so intent on making sure the others were ok that she was completely ignoring the fact her pants were soaked a bit with blood.

She found herself on the balcony not too far after that, breathing in the night air and the silence while the others snacked on Dereks rather large stockpile of food, not able to look at the nogitsune anymore seeing as it wore her cousins face, gagged, pale and black veined as it continued to struggle and glare, chains burning every time it hit bare skin. She couldn't watch him struggle anymore, despite having seen worse in her travels with the Winchesters, seeing what angels like Zachariah would do to promote what they thought was for the greater good, so she grabbed a sweet tea and headed outside to look anywhere else but, sending a quiet prayer to let the others know everything went okay, despite the fact that they likely wouldn't hear it until later. They had finally gotten a good lead on the machinist behind everything, at the same time that Gabriel had gotten a clue as to where Balthazar was being kept, and all of the angels were currently on the hunt, as well as Crowley since it was his name they were clearing. Hopefully by the time all of this was over they would have Balthazar back, as well as catch the asshats catching and gutting supernatural creatures.

Hopefully they could get the home built before anything else happened to put everyone in danger again. Not likely, but a girl could hope, and she could already see a difference in the way her pack handled themselves after their short but effective training sessions. With everyone working together, they had much better odds.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice pulls her from her musings, and she looks up to see Chris standing there, drink in hand as he looks down at her. Shaking her head, she merely pats the spot beside her for him to sit down as well, and they spend about 5 minutes in silence watching the stars, only looking away for a moment when Kiras mother enters the loft, face dark as she stares down her age old enemy, sword in hand. Ashley turns back around, however, as she had no interest in seeing her cousins doppelganger die tonight, it was something she could honestly live without. She does manage to catch a glimpse of Scott biting his neck area before she turns, confirming the theory that was put out.

"You know," She finally begins, breaking the silence and causing Chris to look over at her, a bit curious. "When I first moved down here, I expected something much more relaxed and easy going, a way to get away from my troubles back home. When I first met Derek, he was a creeper in the woods, you were some guy blocking his car at the gas station with your posse, Peter was thought to be an out of his mind burn victim, and all these kids…well, they were just kids. Now I'm technically in charge of all those kids, two of those men are my friends, and one…wants to kill a member of my pack but still somehow get the girl. That's not even mentioning all the angels and demons and weird dreams, the superheroes or the fact that something in there has my cousins face on it and is about to get killed. I don't know if my life is going wrong or right at this point, but it feels like its going somewhere, and I honestly hope I can keep the people I care about safe. Do you ever feel like that?"

"Every day." He says, without hesitation. "Even if my marriage wasn't completely real, I did care for her somewhat, and Allison has me worrying every day if this is the day she gets bit or attacked or killed. All you can do is be there for them when you can, and train them well for when you aren't. From what I've seen, you're doing both very well, even through the rough patches, and have plenty of people to help you when you need it. It's a good thing that you worry, though, it shows you aren't over confident, being careless makes you make mistakes."

Ashley sighs heavily, laying her head on his shoulder as she continues to stare out into the night, barely hearing the commotion behind her and knowing she needs to go back and greet the kitsune to find out what happens now, but wanting to enjoy the quiet a little bit longer. "I know you're right…I'm just worried that I'll do the wrong thing somewhere along the line, make a mistake that gets someone else killed, give Peter another chance only for him to disappoint me again. Tony is putting me practically in charge of this huge home for children with super special needs, and I worry I'm going to somehow mess that up too."

"Hey now, look at me. No one cares for these kids like you do, you wouldn't keep drawing them in if you were doing something wrong. The best choice Stark could have possibly made is you, because no one will fight for and protect these kids better than you. Derek and I will be there every step of the way as well, for whatever you might need." Seeing her look a bit less worried, he presses a light kiss to her forehead then pulls her up with him, giving her a kind smile. "Now come on, we need to make an appearance before everyone starts to gossip. Besides, Evil Stiles looks to be gone, and fox momma has a very content look on her face." Sure enough, Ashley looks back through the window to see empty chains, a very relieved Stiles and a very serious kitsune staring down at a wooden box, latched tightly.

When they finally walk back in, the kitsune looks up gravely and immediately brings her the little box, placing it in the girls hands gently and with finality. "I feel that this will be safest with you. Your friends…do they have a way to make sure the nogitsune can never escape? Can never be found by another living creature to possibly escape and take over another person?" Ashley nods once, and the box is released to her, the kitsune stopping to talk to Kira before she leaves the loft, not bothering to speak to anyone else.

"She's just a ray of sunshine and light, isn't she." Snorts Tony from his corner, making plates of whatever snacks he can find. "Here we are, the ones who caught and dragged the thing back here, and all she does is kill and leave? Not even a thank you at that…I've seen nicer manners from politicians. Who wants poptarts?"

Ashley just shakes her head and takes the offered plate, sitting next to Natasha and Chris at the table while the rest of them eat and talk, glad for it to be over and done, with no casualties along the way for once, having lost Gwaine the last time. The agents would be heading back with Tony next week, and the construction of the land would officially begin, likely being finished in no time due to extreme amounts of money being thrown at it, as well as the influence of one Tony Stark urging them to do a good job. With everything he had planned, he estimated the time would be around 2-3 months to complete, with more being added on here and there as time went on. That would give plenty of time to hire everyone they needed, set up contracts and approvals, as well as ask Crowley to do a much more large scale ward.

Looking around her, she could only feel like good things were coming their way, and basked in the happy energies of the room, ready for what little amount of relaxation they got before the next crisis arose.


End file.
